


Snowfire

by JetBlackSunshine



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, M/M, Magic, will add more tags later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-14
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:02:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 43,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23138146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JetBlackSunshine/pseuds/JetBlackSunshine
Summary: After being repeatedly drawn to a specific place for nights on end, you'd start to think you were going insane right?When Ashton discovers the Guardians, a powerful yet troubled group of people; he soon finds himself in a world he could've never imagined.  As seasonal powers began to reveal themselves and true intentions come to light, the race is on to discover their true meaning.
Relationships: Luke Hemmings/Original Character(s)
Kudos: 10





	1. Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> A new story begins-I've had this up on Wattpad for a few weeks already but decided to start posting it here too. I hope you guys will enjoy it as well. ^^  
> Not sure what the update schedule for this will be, at least to start off with it might be more sporadic than my other works. ^^;

_**Beginning** : (noun) the point in time or space at which something begins._

\-------

He couldn't believe he was doing this again.

The bicycle charged with electricity beneath Ashton's feet as he pedalled faster and faster along the road. He always loved the feeling, he always thought that it was the closest thing to flying. Moving quickly, he cycled his way through the town at the dead of night weaving through dimly lit alleyways and under streetlights. Right up until he saw it just up ahead.

Ashton's heart thumped loudly in his chest as he pulled the breaks causing his tires to come to a screeching halt. He was flung slightly forward as he used the handlebars to support his weight so that he didn't end up going over them. He took in a sharp intake of air as he looked up at the giant flaking golden gate that stood before him.

This wasn't the first time he'd found himself standing in this position in the past month. At around the same time each night Ashton would find himself on his bicycle, drawn to this exact spot. He could never explain what made him do it. It was like his feet peddled here on their own no matter how hard he tried to prevent it.

Ashton swore to himself that tonight would be different though. He was tired of questioning why he found himself here every night. Usually he would chicken out and start cycling away like nothing had happened.

He climbed from his bike and approached the gate cautiously. The was a clatter from behind as his bicycle dropped to the ground, though he barely heard it. He took in a sharp intake of breath, as his hand hovered over the rusted flaking metal.

"Young man, you should stay right away from there!" A gruff voice called; a torchlight lit up directing into Ashton's face. He blinked, holding his hand up to block the light.

The man lowered his torch and Ashton could see his features properly now. He was an old bearded man dressed in a vest and plaid shirt. A set of keys dangled precariously from his right pocket, they clinked together as he moved.

"Right, uh, what's behind there then?" Ashton questioned him, with a raised eyebrow.

"Bad, and terrible things. Young man. The kind of sorts you don't want to find yourself mixing with." He spoke cryptically.

"Oh. I see." Ashton nodded, looking back at the gate. Though Ashton had noticed how the man's tense had changed. What sorts were in there? The old man seemed to lose interest now that he had apparently scared Ashton. He begun to hobble away as he shook his head and muttered incoherently.

Still, despite his words Ashton's eyes couldn't help but linger back to the gate. He'd come here for a reason and he knew it. The answer to why he came here each night, lied right behind that gate he was sure. Ashton pretended to fuss with his bicycle as he waited until the man was gone and he could no longer hear the click clack of his keys or see the light of his flashlight.

The moment he was gone Ashton turned back to the gate again, giving it a hard look. Perhaps the man was right, if there were bad and terrible things in there, did he really want to go inside?

Moving forwards, Ashton ran his hand along one of it beams. There was a distinct click, and the gate shifted under his hand. Ashton glanced upwards in confusion, as the gate seemed to open on its own. Ashton looked behind him nervously, but the man was long gone.

With the gate open, Ashton looked down the path ahead of him. There was a cobblestone pathway that had hedges around it on either side. When he squinted, he could see another hedge? He frowned was this a maze. It reminded him of one he'd been lost in as a kid.

Ashton bit his lip, the old man's words coming back to him about not going in here. He took a single step forwards, he was never going to find out why he kept coming here unless he went inside. Ashton took another step, then another. He glanced back at the gate half expecting it to close right behind him, but it didn't.

He followed the path along to the edge of the hedge. He paused noticing there were two separate paths leading in two separate directions. He glanced between the two of them unsure which one to take. He found himself taking the right path, that curved around into a semi-circle.

As he walked, he saw a large building up ahead, small lanterns illuminating the corners. He frowned was this a hotel or someone's' house? A wave of panic went through him. Wait, could this be counted as breaking and entering?

Nervously, he kept walking. He walked across a small bridge that went over a small running river. There was a path that lead to the building that he had seen in the distance. He walked underneath a small archway finding himself in a large courtyard surrounded by a double story building on all sides. He glanced around noticing how each side was decorated with a different colour and had different patterns. The one across from Ashton was a giant snowflake with dozens of smaller ones around it. The one to his left was decorated with a flower pattern and to his right were leaves. He looked back at the one he was standing on noticing how it was decorated with a giant sun pattern against the brick wall.

What was this place? A temple? A house? Something else? Ashton wondered, as he stepped into the middle of the courtyard.

Ashton had barely stepped in the centre when the entire section he was standing on suddenly flashed with a golden light and the ground began to quake beneath him. Ashton gasped, as he felt a strange tingling sensation in his toes, which began to spread through his entire body. He was enveloped in a strange golden light. The sensation was gone as quickly as it had come, and Ashton fell to his knees. He trembled lightly in shock.

"Someone's here!" Ashton heard a voice yell, as he saw a light illuminate in one of the windows.

He was still slightly dazed, but a wave of panic spread through him. He had no idea what had happened, but he knew he had to get out of there.

Ashton stood up and turned to run towards the direction that he'd come. He could hear someone yelling as he found himself back on the cobblestone path that he'd came here on. He crossed back across the bridge and followed the hedges around, narrowing his eyebrows as he found himself on the final stretch. The gate was in clear sight.

The voices continued but Ashton bolted along the straight stretch. Promptly shutting the gate behind him. He didn't dare look back and see what was behind him. Instead he picked his bike up, sat on the seat and began to ride away. The bike wobbled slightly beneath him. It took Ashton a moment to realise that he was shaking.

What had that place been? Why had it lit up when he'd stood on it? Ashton was seriously spooked, swearing never to go in there again even if he did find himself back there the next night.

"Well hey, at least I didn't die right." Ashton chuckled to himself as he continued to pedal.

Ashton took a left at the next cross street as he steered his bike towards home. He'd had more than enough adventure for one night.

It was at that point Ashton noticed someone standing at the corner of the park, he wore a black beanie, his blonde almost white hair sticking out from it. He raised his hand, and for a moment Ashton could've sworn he saw a bright light blue flash of light.

Ashton shrugged, there were some weird people around tonight. Instead he focused on the road ahead.

Suddenly, he heard a massive clunk as the gears on his bike began to stall. Ashton frowned as his bike instantly came to a stop, buckling upwards. He felt his body leave the seat, and he was flying in the air for as his entire body flipped over the handlebars losing any grip that he'd had on his bike. A sharp pain shot up his back as he collided with the asphalt.

Ashton let out a groan as he laid there for a moment, withering in pain. His bike lied beside him, without even a wheel turning. No wonder it had stopped, something was very wrong with it. Ashton took a sharp intake of air, just as he saw small icicles beginning to form on his hands.

"Mikey, what the hell? That was not part of the plan?!" A voice yelled.

"So, it wasn't like he was going to stop anytime soon now was it?" Another voice countered.

"Well no." The original voice said, as two sets of black boots stepped in front of Ashton.

Ashton sat up slowly, wincing as his head cried out in pain. He looked up at them. One was the blonde that he'd seen standing in the park, his hair tucked under a beanie. The other wore a cap, small strands of dark brown hair sticking out from it. They tilted their heads as if sizing him up. Who were these people?

"So, who do you think he is then?" The one with the cap asked, as if Ashton wasn't even looking at them.

"Let's find out." The blonde grinned, raising his hand and Ashton saw a quick beam of light. Panicked he tried to pull himself up, just as he heard a noise like ice crackling and his legs suddenly could not move any further. When he looked down, he could see the thick wads of ice covering both his legs. It was the end of spring. What was this? Magic?

Ashton looked up at the two guys and scowled. "What the hell?"

The blonde one with the beanie frowned at him, his gaze venomous, "Start talking alright, and we'll make this easy for you."

Ashton gulped, beginning to put two and two together. Was this because he'd walked through those gates? It had to be. So many questions raced through Ashton's head, but it seemed they wanted him to talk. What could he possibly tell them? Sorry I accidently walked into your garden. Somehow, he didn't think that would go down well with either of them. There was something almost inhuman about the two of them.

The blonde sighed, raising his hand slightly. Ashton let out a sharp gasp as he felt the ice on his legs increase reaching further up his legs. He couldn't feel his toes or feet anymore, the cold ice spreading right through them.

"Look, I don't know anything!" Ashton yelled at him in fear as he gestured to his legs, "Just explain to me what all this is? I mean how are you even doing that?"

The blonde smirked, his eyes shifting to his partner, "Typical, they try to pretend they don't know anything about us. He's just another spy. Threaten him a little more and I'm sure he'll tell us everything."

What the heck? They thought he was a spy? What was there to spy on? Well he supposed there was the fact that the blonde seemed to hold the ability to turn him into a human popsicle, but he wasn't sure whether there was much else.

"I don't know what you're talking about! Just who are you people anyway?" Ashton yelled at them.

The dark haired one sighed, he tilted his head sideways looking at him. He looked to the blonde. "I guess, I have no choice then."

The blonde-haired boy nodded. "I think you better do it."

Ashton's breath caught, what was he going to do? He'd thought that blonde one was bad, but perhaps the other guy was even more dangerous than the first.

The brown haired one pulled his hand back. He seemed to move it back and forth in a scooping motion. A second later there was a light crackle as dozens of leaves began to build around him like a wall. Then he moved his hand in a sweeping motion, and they were dancing above Ashton growing closer. They begin to drop and land onto him, they seemed to stick to the surface of his skin. Ashton didn't think it was too bad at first until he felt them crackle and tighten around him, encasing him in their leathery surface. They launched at his neck, choking him. Ashton took a gasp of air as they seemed to collect around his face covering his mouth and nose. The sharp points on the dried leaves were digging in tightly to his skin. Ashton tried to grab at them, but he found his hands frozen and useless.

Ashton let out a sharp growl, as he struggled against the ice and the crusty leaves. He didn't understand, why were they doing this? Couldn't they see he had no idea what they were talking about.

He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth against the bitter cold. Slowly Ashton felt his hands tingle with a strange sense of energy. The feeling spread across his entire body like electricity. The leaves touching his skin were beginning to smoulder and burn. He could feel the ice beginning to melt away to water.

Ashton heard the boys gasp, as golden light seemed to burst from his entire body. He heard the two of them yell, as they ducked down to the ground.

Just like that the ice was gone, as were the leaves. Ashton pulled himself up from the ground and gasped realising his legs were no longer frozen together and his back no longer hurt. He stood glaring down at them as they stood from their crouched positions, both their faces wide with shock and horrified amazement. Ashton looked at his hands just in time to see them glowing with golden light before fading. There was a melted puddle of water at his feet, and tatters of the leaves that were still smouldering burned around him.

"It's not possible." The blonde spoke, shaking his head, "There hasn't been a Summer guardian for centuries."

"I really think it's him." The dark brown-haired boy nodded, inspecting a smouldering leaf with a bewildered expression.

"No hard feelings?" The blonde stood extending his hand to Ashton with a warm almost welcoming smile. Ashton stared at it for a moment, he frowned. This guy had tried to hurt him a few moments ago. He looked around him, none of this made sense. He still wasn't sure how or what he'd done but it had certainly changed both boys tune dramatically.

The blonde frowned, seeming to realise that Ashton wasn't about to just take his hand.

"Look, I'm sorry for that. This is going to sound crazy, but you need to come with us. I'm not sure how much time we have until they find out about you." He spoke his expression softening, he offered his hand to Ashton again.

Ashton shook his head and crossed his arms. "Excuse me, but you can't just freeze me, try to suffocate me and then expect me to come with you. You haven't even told me your names or a thing about yourselves."

The blonde bit his lip for a moment, before letting out a sigh, "Alright, sure, fair enough. I get it. I'm sorry." He frowned, "Though you can't possibly understand how important it is that we get out of here. What you just did was incredible, and I promise we'll explain everything once we're in a more secure location."

"Michael there's Reapers..." The dark haired one spoke quietly, his eyes on something in the distance, "We have to leave now. With or without him."

The blonde who Ashton now assumed was Michael followed the other's gaze and scowled, "Not without him, you know what they'd do to him if they work out what he can do. That is if they haven't already, the energy signature would've spread for miles."

Confused, Ashton followed both their gazes to see a group of hooded figures on the horizon. The only thing marking them out from one another was the small crystal gems each had on their chest. Ashton frowned, whoever they were both seemed to be afraid of them.

"If you don't want to die in the next thirty seconds' I suggest you take our hands' so we can get the hell out of here." Michael scowled offering his hand to Ashton for a third time. The two of them were already holding hands, the dark-haired guy reached his out to Ashton as well.

Ashton stared between their hands for a moment wondering whether accepting them would be the right choice. There was a look of panic and frustration in the blondes' eyes.

"Hurry." He yelled at him.

Ashton hesitated for a second more, he noticed the dark haired one look back anxiously. He knew he didn't have much more time to decide.

Then he felt it. A sharp pain in his right shoulder. He let out a yell as he jerked forwards the pain quickly spreading. He had no idea what had hit him, but it was getting worse. A dizzy feeling was spreading into his head as the world began to waver.

He heard Michael swear, as his outstretched hand illuminated a pale blue colour.

"We're getting out of here." Michael spoke grabbing Ashton's hand before he could respond. His hand was icy cold. The other guy quickly followed suit grabbing Ashton's hand as well. Ashton stared as the other guys hand illuminated with an orange glow, it was warmer than the blondes but not by much. Ashton was in too much pain to argue with either of them.

The scenery around them began to change as the coloured lights from the other hands engulfed them in a bluish orange light.

Ashton tried to blink away the dark patches that were forming in his vision, but it was seemingly useless. As the pain continued to spread through his entire body.

A moment later and the dark-haired guy let out a painful groan, his entire form trembling slightly. He heard Michael swear again as the world faded to black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! ^^


	2. New

_**New** : (adjective) 1. produced, introduced, or discovered recently or now for the first time; not existing before. 2. already existing but seen, experienced, or acquired recently or now for the first time._

_\---------------------_

Ashton frowned as he woke up in a strange room, with a pain searing through his right shoulder. He sat up on the bed slowly, noticing the light filtering in gently from the gaps in the blinds. The blinds were covering the window across the room. He looked up above, noticing the massive yellow and orange sun design on the ceiling. He stared up at it for a moment, noticing how it looked to be hand painted.

It was impressive, but also slightly terrifying.

He could remember the night before clearly. The same as many nights before he'd been drawn back to that mysterious gate. Ignoring the old man's warnings, he'd finally entered them discovering that strange place. When he'd rode away on his bicycle, he'd been suddenly attacked by those strange guys that seemingly knew magic. Then he'd seemingly used some sort of magic himself to get out? There had been no time to ask the two of them, as they'd had to flee. Something about Reapers. Ashton was sure he'd been injured. He could remember the sharp pain that had stung through his shoulder. Then glowing hands, as the whole world had spun and faded.

He glanced around he wasn't sure where he was, but he knew it had something to do with all of that.

Slowly he rose and stood beside the bed. His head letting out a small protest. He noticed that other than the sun painted on the roof that the room was rather vacant and plain. There were small cobwebs in the corner, and a slight layer of dust on the bedside table as if it had been long abandoned. There was a small chest of drawers to one side of the room and a small door that lead to a bathroom. It was a little bit like he was residing in a hotel. Yet still he had no clue what this place was.

He walked over to the window carefully peeking through the blinds. He could see down into a courtyard that's rocky floor was decorated with various swirling patterns. It looked almost like a temple or a foreign palace. He looked to be on the second floor, which seemed to be the top floor of the whole thing. There were joined but still separate buildings that formed a square around the courtyard. Each side of the building had high peaked roofs and tiled roofing. He frowned; it was strange. What was this place?

There was a knock on the door that caused Ashton to jump. He stared at the door for a moment, his heart beating faster. He didn't respond at first, hoping that whoever it was would go away.

Slowly, the door opened. Ashton was stunned to find the dark-haired guy from the night before standing in the doorway. He was dressed in a light blue t-shirt and pants that kind of looked like pyjamas. His hand was wrapped in a bandage. He looked surprised but his expression seemed to light up as his eyes caught on Ashton.

"Oh good, you're up." The guy grinned, "Good morning."

Ashton hesitated for a moment. He didn't trust the guys friendly demeanour when he knew how deadly the other could be. He had tried to choke him with leaves after all. Yet he reminded himself that despite what had happened initially they had seemed to want to help him later. Along with the blonde they'd seemingly pulled him out of that mess as he'd blacked out. They couldn't be all bad.

"Uh, good morning." Ashton replied, feeling slightly nervous under his gaze.

The guy walked across the room, sitting on the bed Ashton had just been lying on and made himself at home. He smiled warmly at Ashton as if they'd been friends for years. It was all a little confusing.

"So how are you feeling?" He asked. He seemed to be trying to look past him, before he added, "How's your shoulder?"

Ashton felt a sharp twinge of pain at the mention of his shoulder. He rubbed at it slightly as the guy sitting on his bed stared at him.

"Not too bad, still hurts a little though." Ashton admitted, not sure what kind of answer the other guy was looking for. He still wasn't quite sure what had even hit him. Just that it had hurt and had possibly been the cause of him blacking out.

A look of relief crossed the guys face. "Thank goodness. Luke was worried you were so badly injured that his healing powers wouldn't work. I guess he had nothing to worry about."

Ashton blinked at him. Was he being serious? Ashton wondered if he had heard the guy right about this Luke person having healing powers.

Though Ashton supposed after what he'd seen last night the mention of any sort of magic shouldn't surprise him anymore. The blonde had almost turned him into a human popsicle after all. Then the guy standing before him had seemingly moved leaves without even touching them.

"Though I suppose you wouldn't know about that because the Reapers came. You blacked out from the poison before we could get a word out." The guy sighed, looking sympathetic.

At the mention of Reapers and poison, Ashton only managed to nod. He had so many questions that he wanted to ask the guy. For starters where were they? Why had they brough him here? How did they have these powers? If he had powers, then what did it mean?

He silently knew that those questions were just the start of it. He had no idea where to even begin.

"You must have a lot of questions." The guy nodded as if he had read Ashtons mind, he seemed to think for a moment, "Do you think you're well enough to go for a walk down to the village? While we walk, I can explain how things work around here."

"Honestly that would be great." Ashton managed. Surely an explanation would help. His response earned him a relieved smile from the other guy.

"So, it's Ashton, right?" The guy asked.

"You uh never told me your name either." Ashton admitted sheepishly. With everything that had happened neither side had managed to talk about that.

"Oh right, it's Calum." He nodded with a smile, before standing, "I'll meet you back here. If you want to change your clothes, there's some spares in the drawer. It's mainly just some of our old stuff but hopefully it'll do."

Ashton looked down at his clothes, noticing that were covered in dirt and perhaps a little bit of blood. He nodded gratefully, before muttering a quick thank you. With that Calum disappeared leaving him to get changed. Within five minutes Ashton had found a pair of old jeans and a plain shirt and was already waiting at the door. Calum appeared not long after.

"Tell me everything I need to know." Ashton nodded, once they were barely out of the building.

"Well for starters. We're what's known as Guardians. There's three of us. Each of us have powers over a specific season. My power is over Autumn. Michael who you met last night is the Winter Guardian. Then Luke who I'll introduce to you later has powers over spring." Calum explained as they walked out of a smaller stone gate and began to walk down a winding path.

Ashton nodded. So that's what their powers were. It explained the ice.

"After what we saw you do last night, we have reason to believe, you're the fourth Guardian. The guardian who has powers over Summer." Calum smiled, though he frowned for a moment, "The thing about the fourth guardian is that there hasn't been a summer guardian in centuries."

Ashton stared at him in disbelief, processing Calum's words for a moment.

"You think it's me?" Ashton asked, the shock evident in his tone.

Yet he knew as crazy as it was, he had done something magical last night. He'd melted his way straight out of the ice and those leaves.

Calum nodded, "I do at least. I mean Luke didn't exactly agree with me, but he wasn't there. Michael did though. So, I think we're right."

Ashton felt a little nervous, it wasn't a hundred percent, but Calum sounded certain.

"So how do we know? I mean I have no idea how to do what I did last night again if you wanted me to prove it." Ashton frowned.

This didn't seem to faze Calum, he simply nodded.

"There's a couple of ways we can check without doing that. We can go back up towards the palace and the summer quarter should light up for you, but there's something much quicker. Show me your wrists, if you're a Guardian too there will be an identifying mark there." Calum spoke.

Ashton hesitated for a moment. Yet he had to know whether Calum was telling the truth or whether he could just turn around and pretend like none of this had ever happened. He held his wrists out like Calum had asked him to do. He didn't look for a moment, but he heard Calum let out an excited yell. Ashton looked down and stared at what Calum was looking at. Clear as day on his right wrist was a sun shaped mark. It was like the ceiling in that room. It was exactly what Calum had been referring to. Nothing felt like a coincidence anymore. He felt a little dizzy.

"Don't worry. I have one as well." Calum smiled, moving a collection of bracelets up his wrist. There was a mark on his arm almost identical in style but shaped like an autumn leaf.

"So, it is me?" Ashton gasped, tracing his finger around the outline of the sun. He looked up at Calum suddenly feeling a little nervous. Calum nodded, "So if I am the summer guardian then what does this mean?"

"Basically, you can stay with us and train to fight the Reapers." Calum suggested, he bit his lip noticing Ashtons lack of enthusiasm at the suggestion. "Though I guess otherwise you can get us to teach you to protect yourself and return to normal life if that's what you really want."

Ashton suddenly realised he had a decision to make. This was a bigger deal than he'd expected it to be. He wasn't sure he liked the idea of fighting Reapers. Though could he really return home knowing that he had these powers and could be using them for something greater.

"What are your thoughts on it?" Ashton decided to ask. He figured Calum was going to be the expert on it. Although it was obvious what Calum and the others must've chosen.

"It's pretty cool to be honest. Well, except for the fact that we deal with Reapers on a regular basis." Calum sighed, "They want to steal, the source of our powers. Our sparks. Then use them for their own twisted purposes."

Ashton raised an eyebrow as he put it all together. So those people in the hooded clothes weren't an unusual appearance.

"Not to scare you but they could create a lot of havoc if they succeeded taking even one." Calum spoke gravely, "I'm talking eternal seasons and a lot of death and destruction."

Ashton shivered slightly, realising these powers weren't a game.

Ashton frowned, "That's terrible."

"Exactly." Calum nodded, as they continued to wind along the hill. "I mean, all of us have the capability of doing those things ourselves, but we don't. It's our job to keep the balance."

Ashton stared at him; things just got serious pretty quickly. No wonder they were so scared when the reapers had shown up last night. He grabbed towards his shoulder; they had known what they were doing. He hadn't even faced them properly and could tell they were a force to be reckoned with.

Calum and Ashton continued to walk along a red bricked path that winded it's way along the mountain side. It was like walking into some sort of fantasy movie like the Wizard of Oz. Ashton half expected Dorothy or the Wicked Witch to come flying along past them. Especially now he knew that in some form, or another magic was real.

The trees surrounding them seemed to end and they found themselves at a lone single tree surrounded by grass. Calum lead him forwards to the edge of a cliff face and gestured down below. There was a whole town below them. It seemed to stretch for miles.

"So, this is the town." Calum begun, gesturing out in front of them like a tour guide, "Only we know about it though. There's lots of other people with much smaller amounts of magic that live here."

Calum dragged him further along and they started to wind their way down the mountain. Calum started explaining to him how the Seasonal Guardians were viewed kind of like royalty amongst the locals. That had freaked Ashton out a bit, and he'd started asking Calum if he was supposed to bow or something to them. He looked down at his second-hand clothes, feeling slightly out of place. Calum just laughed at him, saying it wasn't like that. They were just highly respected that was all. It didn't do much to ease Ashton's nerves though.

"So how did you find out about this anyway? When did you realise that you even had these powers?" Ashton asked him as they walked.

Calum simply smiled. "Like most people, I grew up here in the town." He explained. "Basically, I was about seven. A few days earlier, I'd found myself at the temple on the Autumn part. No one lived there then, so no one noticed. The day we found out I was so angry about something that had happened at school. When I managed to kill all my mother house plants by simply being in the same room as them, she knew." Calum grinned seemingly amused by the memory.

Ashton stared at him. He'd killed all his mother's house plants? He thought of the dried-up leaves Calum had been manipulating. He supposed that in Autumn all the trees lost their leaves. So, it made sense that a guardian of Autumn could do that to plants.

"The rest is kind of history from there." Calum shrugged, "Needless to say, my mother keeps all her house plants away from me whenever I go to visit. Luke's pretty strict on it as well, I'm not allowed anywhere near his garden either."

Ashton managed to crack a smile at him for that. He could just imagine this woman running around her house putting her house plants on the highest shelves, tucking them in cupboards and other rooms just so her son wouldn't get to them.

"Anyway, we're here." Calum declared gesturing to a bustling street before them. There were people everywhere, food carts lined the streets and colourful flags decorated the rows. The street walks and the houses were made of cobblestone suggesting that the place was historic. Ashton could only stare.

Calum was examining Ashton's reaction carefully, "So Ash, I was thinking it might be best if I don't introduce you as the summer guardian yet...if anyone asks you're just a friend..." Calum pulled off a few of his bracelets and gestured to Ashton's wrist where his sun mark was , "Here, you better put these on just in case."

Ashton was a little confused but nodded. He slid the bracelets onto his arm and made sure to cover the sun mark completely.

The street was amazing, strange exotic food was cooked along the aisles. Calum slowed as they came to a bakery, selling various pastries. The store owners face lit up as she started choosing things from her store before Calum could even suggest it. Ashton noticed quickly, whenever Calum had tried to pay people would shake their heads. Calum usually left strange looking money in their tip jars, anyway, causing the store owners to gush with appreciation.

They took the food to a large park, the was a fountain in the centre that was decorated much like the part in the centre of the temple that Ashton had been in last night. It was covered in autumn leaves, snowflakes and flowers. He was sure if he looked properly, he'd find some sun themed symbols as well.

"It's good isn't it?" Calum smiled at him.

Ashton nodded as he finished the last of the croissant he'd been eating.

Calum stretched out his arms. He let out a sigh, "I guess we better head back. If anyone's up yet they'll be wondering where we are. Besides, I have training in an hour anyway."

"Training?" Ashton raised an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah. Well we must be ready for the Reapers, so Michael, Luke and I usually train together. You can come watch us if you want. Though I wouldn't recommend joining in just yet when you're so new to your powers, you could get hurt."

"I see." Ashton frowned; he shouldn't be surprised. Calum had mentioned that they faced the Reapers a lot.

Packing up their things the two of them made the journey back up the hill to the temple. There were the mad footsteps of running as someone came to a grinding halt in front of them. Ashton took the stranger in, he had dirty blondish colour hair that fell just past his ears. Though as he tucked his hair behind his ear, he noticed the familiar mark on his arm but shaped like a flower.

"Calum, thank goodness you're back. I came to check on our patient and you were both gone. I was worried something had happened to you." The stranger frowned. The male's eyes landed on Ashton and they stared. "Your awake."

"Uh...yeah I am."

Calum looked a little nervous as he began to make introductions, "Luke this is Ashton. Ashton this is Luke. He's the Spring Guardian I was telling you about. The one who helped heal you."

"I see." Ashton nodded, though he felt uncomfortable under Luke's gaze, who seemed to be looking at him like a laboratory experiment. "Uh, thanks."

At that moment a second figure came sliding in, it was the blonde from last night he looked panicked as well. "Calum? We've been looking for you everywhere." He slowed as his eyes caught on Ashton, "Oh, hi. Uh, sorry about last night by the way. I may have overreacted a little."

"This is Michael, but you probably remember him from last night, right?" Calum asked looking at Ashton.

Ashton simply nodded, the ice wielder kind of freaked him out a little.

"Guys I think Ash, is the new summer guardian." Calum nodded to him, with a warm comforting smile. He gestured to Ashton to remove the bracelets. Ashton showed his wrist to Michael and Luke, whose faces lit up in surprise. Especially Luke's.

"Cool! I knew it!" Michael yelled loudly, giving a smug grin.

"Unbelievable." Luke stared, "So how much have you told him?" Luke asked looking a little nervous as he turned to Calum.

"A basic crash course in the Reapers, we visited the village and I gave him a basic run down about our powers." Calum shrugged. "I thought that would be enough for now."

"Good, that's perfect." Luke nodded, he looked at Ashton suspiciously, "Though there's one other thing I want to try before we decide to call you the Summer Guardian. Will everyone follow me?"

Both Michael and Calum nodded, and Ashton started to follow. They walked up a staircase to an area that was surrounded by buildings. Intricate patterns of the various seasons lined the wall. There were four coloured stone tablets on the ground, each of a different colour and with one on each side. Ashton stared stepping back slightly as he realised, they were where he had been last night. Last time he'd stood anywhere near this place it had seemingly caused an Earthquake and he'd felt kind of weird, he wasn't sure he wanted to go through with this again.

Luke was already walking over the other side where the flowers were all decorated. Michael had started walking up as well.

"Come on, you have to try it." Calum frowned noticing Ashtons hesitation. "I'm positive that this is going to work."

"I don't know..." Ashton frowned.

"I've always wanted to try this." Michael grinned at them as he slowed, "but there's never been all of us. Come on Ashton you have to do this."

Calum held out his hand, towards Ashton, "One step at a time."

Ashton sucked in a deep breath but allowed Calum to lead him up the rest of the staircase. He could already see a greenlight glowing underneath Luke. Luke was looking a little impatient, tapping his foot on the ground and moving restlessly. Michael had just reached what appeared to be his side, the light below him glowing a light blue. He looked at Calum and Ashton looking excited.

"This is my one." Calum nodded, to the circle in front of them, "Go and stand on your side opposite Michael."

Hesitantly Ashton nodded, the three of them were standing there but there had been no Earthquakes yet. It was safe, he had to trust them. He walked towards the final spot feeling the other guys eyes in him. He put one foot and then the other. Immediately the ground beneath him seemed to react, it lit up exactly as it had the night before. No earthquakes this time though. 

He looked up as Michael let out a yell in delight, as the ground illuminated between the four of them lighting up the space in the middle. Luke was gazing in the centre nodding. Ashton turned to Calum who gave him the thumbs up. He stood in awe for a moment, this was really happening.

Perhaps he really was the summer guardian.

He didn't have long to enjoy the moment, as suddenly a young woman with long blonde hair tied in a ponytail raced down the stairs towards them. She was dressed all in white with a silvered patterned sash tied around her stomach. She looked almost warrior like. She didn't even glance at Ashton as she made a beeline towards Luke.

"Guys, there's been another incident." The girl spoke at Luke, although she was seemingly talking to the whole group.

Luke and the other's eyes widened almost instantly.

"We'll go to the meeting room, right away." Luke nodded, turning and walking towards her. The two of them meeting part of the way across the middle. His light went out the moment he left the spot.

A flicker of disappointment went through Michael expression, but he nodded. As he moved towards Luke, his light faded instantly.

Calum turned to Ashton, gesturing for him to follow them. There was evident worry in his eyes.

"Come on, Ashton you better come to the meeting too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! ^^


	3. Protector

**Protector** : ( _Noun): a person or thing that protects someone or something._

_————_

Ashton was more than a little nervous as Calum lead him across the courtyard. The two of them kept each other's stride as they followed Luke, Michael and the new stranger across it. At the edge of the courtyard they came to an ornately carved staircase that lead up to the second floor of the building before them. Ashton slowed, allowing himself a moment to study the intricate carvings. He noted that they were made up of similar symbols to what he'd seen earlier. There was a pattern of leaves, flowers, snowflakes and suns that seemed to intertwine with one another.

Seeing them like this made him a little nervous, it gave that moment back there in the courtyard more meaning. There was something much bigger about all of this. He tried hard not to think about their meaning too much.

Once they were up on the second floor. The group walked down the corridor for a moment before they turned into another room. Ashton slowed, allowing himself a moment to slow and stare as they walked inside. He let out a small gasp, unsure where to look. Most of the room was decorated in honey coloured timber that, much like the staircase was covered in ornate carvings. He looked up noticing that the entire ceiling was painted with similar symbols. They had an old-world charm to them, looking like something out of a European ceiling painting. It reminded him of the sun in the room that he had woken up in. He wondered whether the same person had painted both ceilings.

Though he was a little taken aback when he saw the mismatched collection of beanbags that were strewn across the floor. The more modern items contrasted with the rest of the room. He hesitated slightly as he noticed the girl from the courtyard sitting in one of them. Both Luke and Michael were already taking seats on either side of her. Calum's eyes searched around the room as he pulled out two beanbags from the right corner of the room. Calum quickly offered a blue spotted one to Ashton. Ashton nodded to him, accepting it gladly.

"Who is he?" A voice asked.

Ashton's eyes flickered from the beanbag and back to the girl. Her steely blue eyes were narrowed on him. Filled with suspicion. Ashton could only guess she hadn't noticed him back out in the courtyard. Not that he exactly knew what her purpose was here, but it seemed the other guys trusted her.

His mouth ran dry, as he thought of how to introduce himself to someone who looked like she could kill him with looks alone.

"Jemma, this is Ashton." Luke began slowly, sounding almost hesitant, "He's the new summer guardian."

A look of shock crossed her features for a split second, they were quickly masked by a carefully worn poker face. She didn't smile, she didn't ask Luke for proof.

"I see, that's interesting." She nodded curtly to Luke with a slightly stiff tone. Ashton shivered a little, feeling slightly unwelcome. Though he noticed Luke shoot her a bit of a look. There was something incredibly off about the exchange.

She looked Ashton up and down cautiously resting her eyes on his. "Welcome to the team then."

A strange sense came over Ashton that made his skin want to crawl, he shivered slightly. Locked in her gaze. Their eyes held for a moment too long. Calum let out a slight cough, promptly pushing the bean bags towards Ashton encouraging him to take seat.

As Ashton's eyes pulled away, Jemma seemed to blink as well. Luke shot her another puzzled look. Ashton cowered slightly and took a spot down beside Calum.

"Anyway. Ashton, this is Jemma." Luke added, looking a little uncertain. "She's what's known as a Protector, she helps keep us safe. She's also my girlfriend."

Ashton nodded. Right, she was extremely important then.

Though as he looked over, he realised Jemma wasn't seeming to be paying attention to him anymore, she raised her palms. She moved them in unison in a circular motion as a white light appeared from her hands before forming a mist. Ashton couldn't help but stare. It seemed she could use magic too. It seemed Guardians weren't the only ones with incredible magic powers. Though he could remember Calum mentioning something about that on the walk.

The white mist grew before forming a screen in front of them. Soon an image appeared of two professional looking people. One was a woman with blonde hair that was tied neatly in a bun, beside her was a man in business attire and perfectly combed over hair.

Luke let out a sharp yell, as he seemed to recognise him. Calum shook his head, as his eyes fell to the floor. Michael was just dead silent as he stared up at their faces on the misty screen. Ashton wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel. He didn't know these people, but it was clear they were known to the other three.

The image faded and what looked to be moving security footage rolled in a loop on the screen. Ashton thought it looked like they were watching a proper news coverage on screen. Yet it was clear from Jemma's finger movements that she was somehow using magic to manipulate the whole thing. No one spoke, as she continued.

"Three council members have been missing since last Tuesday." Jemma frowned, gesturing to the images before them, "They were last seen leaving the council complex that's located near the Spring temple." She frowned, "No one has seen or heard from them since the footage was taken."

Still no one spoke. He knew silently that this wasn't some magic trick, this was real news. He realised with a sinking stomach that he was somehow involved in all this now.

"That's terrible." Calum was the first to speak, "That's already the second set of disappearances this week."

"Exactly." Luke agreed with him, with a sombre nod.

The second set of disappearances? Ashton frowned. He silently wondered if it would be rude to be asked to be excused from the meeting. He wasn't sure he wanted to know about any of this.

Ashton felt out of it as the other four fussed over the details of what had happened. There were theories everywhere. Luke made Jemma replay the footage over and over until they'd all analysed every second of it. Ashton had looked for clues too, not entirely sure what he was even supposed to be looking for. Michael swore he saw one of the Reapers in the bushes for a split second, but the others hadn't agreed. With the way no one could make sense of it, perhaps this footage was of little use after all.

"Maybe the Council has more footage or more evidence." Michael wondered, he turned to Jemma, "This was just what they told you to show us, right?"

Jemma nodded. "They gave us that to me as a starter, but yeah there could be more for sure."

The three Guardian's exchanged glances an unspoken word passed through them. Luke nodded to the other two.

"That settles it then. The four of us will go to the council and see if they have any more information." He nodded, "We might be able to find some other clues near where they disappeared too."

Michael was nodding eagerly, as if Luke had just suggested a group trip to Disneyland. Calum on the other hand was much less enthusiastic, he bit on his lip and looked a little nervous.

"Wait, what about Ashton?" Calum asked, gesturing towards him. Ashton flinched slightly. What about him?

Luke's gaze turned to Ashton and he frowned as he seemed to consider Calum's question.

Luke quickly shook his head, "No way. Ashton is not coming with us."

Calum's face fell slightly, Ashton shuffled awkwardly feeling a little out of place. Luke looked between them as he looked regretfully at their expressions. "I'm sorry but Ashton isn't ready." He sighed, "If he uses even the slightest bit of magic outside of these walls right now, the Reapers will find him...and all of us. We don't even know what he can do yet. It's far too risky."

Ashton felt a little uneasy. He didn't like the way Luke talked about him like he wasn't even there. Yet if last night had taught him anything, Luke had a point. He had no wish to come face to face with those Reapers again any time soon.

"We can't leave Ashton here on his own though." Calum frowned, "I think someone should stay here with him."

Luke nodded as he drummed his fingers on the beanbag. He frowned once more, before nodding.

"Alright then, it can be you then." Luke spoke. Calum's eyes widened as if that hadn't been what he'd meant, "I need to be there helping them. So does Jemma." Luke began, he frowned before gesturing between both Michael and Calum, "That means it's down to you two. All things considered, Michael's his opposite and barely knows him." Luke frowned, "So it has to be you."

Calum was shaking his head slightly. He looked more than a little uncertain about Luke's grand idea.

"Don't you need me though?" Calum asked looking concerned.

Luke shook his head, "Ashton needs you here more." He protested, "In fact here's an idea. You can start training him whilst Jemma, Michael and I go to the council. How does that sound?"

Calum frowned, but not as deeply as before. Luke's words seemed to sway him slightly as he started to nod.

"Okay." Calum nodded, but he still looked a little uncertain. Ashton wondered whether he was happy about the idea of having to essentially babysitting while the others went off on their adventures. Yet a moment later Calum turned back to him and grinned warmly as if none of that argument between him and Luke had happened.

Maybe things would be okay.

*****

After the others had gone, Calum took Ashton to what looked at first glance like a training gym. Yet on closer glance there was much more to it than that.

There were various pieces of equipment that twisted at strange angles like an obstacle course. Cupboards surrounded the room; some were metal and completely enclosed. While others were made of glass. Ashton's eyes lingered for a moment on a cabinet filled with various coloured gemstones.

As they walked across the room, he found that the floor was soft and spongy underneath his feet like he was walking on a pillow. Calum pulled up two chairs from the side wall and sat them in the middle of the room, gesturing for Ashton to sit. Ashton raised an eyebrow, expecting a little more. Yet he still followed Calum's instructions.

Calum let out a long sigh if unsure for a moment where to start.

"Are they going to be okay without you?" Ashton asked, speaking about it for the first time since the meeting. It was clear Calum was struggling a little with being left behind.

Calum blinked, looking a little surprised that Ashton had asked that. After a moment's pause, he nodded, "They're only visiting the council. It's not like their intentionally fighting reapers. They'll be fine and back before we know it, we go on trips like this all the time. It's pretty standard to be honest."

Ashton nodded slowly, hoping that Calum was telling the truth. He could only hope that those awful Reapers weren't lingering. He'd hate to think if something happened to the three of them.

"Anyway, shall we start?" Calum smiled, pushing the conversation away.

Ashton nodded, both a little excited and nervous at getting started. He wanted to be able to do something as impressive as last night. Looking back now it seemed incredible. He wanted to be able to prove himself to Calum. Perhaps even himself.

Calum bit his lip, before he began to speak, "So basically everyone's powers manifest slightly differently. To start off with it's usually a moment of anger or rage." Calum explained, with wild hand movements, "But from there you also need to learn to control it."

"So, kind of like last night right then?" Ashton questioned, as he sat up straighter.

"Exactly." Calum nodded, "I'm curious though, had you ever done something like that before? Like heated something up on your own for example."

Ashton was quick to shake his head. Calum frowned, biting on his lip. It was clear Calum was getting a little more nervous.

"Okay then, well you were angry at us last night and managed it. So perhaps if you can focus on another time where you've been angry. Then you might able to focus it into your powers."

"Okay." Ashton nodded.

Though he silently wondered if it was that easy why he'd never done it before. It sure would've made things easier when threatening bullies in high school. They wouldn't have gone anywhere near him if he could've lit up with flames. He probably would've got himself in a lot more trouble at school though.

Ashton shook his head, focusing as Calum gave a small demonstration. Calum now had a pile of leaves in hand and was using them to show some of the hand movements he used to control and turn leaves. Ashton watched studying him in wonder, as the leaves rose around them, obeying Calum's hand movements.

It seemed easy enough, watching him. Ashton's heart thumped in anticipation, as he wondered just what he could do.

Soon enough it was Ashton's turn. Calum gave him pointers as he pushed his hands in every direction hoping for even the tiniest spark of light. Yet he was met with nothing.

After about the hundredth attempt Ashton let out a groan. He glanced over at Calum feeling disheartened.

"Nothing's happening." Ashton sighed, with an edge to his tone as he slumped back onto the seat. "Shouldn't something have started happening by now?"

Calum frowned, shooting Ashton a sidewards glance. He shook his head, "I'm not sure either. I mean, no offence but after I saw what you did last night, I would've thought you'd be shooting fireballs out of your hands by now."

Ashton put his face in his hands. Why was this so hard for him? If he was a Guardian, then shouldn't this stuff come easily to him? He couldn't help but feel the doubt tricking in.

"Why can't I do it?" Ashton frowned, he sighed, "I mean wasn't it easier for you?"

Calum bit his lip, "I don't know, yes and no. I was about maybe seven or eight when I first discovered my powers. Most of the time I could already turn leaves, though manipulating them took a few weeks." Calum paused as he thought for a moment, his eyes lit up, "Perhaps we need to work out what your basic skill is, there must be something really basic you can do like heating up water or just warming your palms.."

"Let's try it." Ashton nodded; he was willing to try anything by this point.

Calum disappeared to find some water and returned with a metal container filled with water. Commenting that he had a glass one before realising at this early stage it might be a bad idea. Ashton had nodded, a vision of glass exploding everywhere coming into his mind. Though he knew that would only be if he could get the water to heat up in the first place.

Ashton concentrated on the glass, under Calum's instruction. First focusing on the contents of the glass with his mind. Before he moved onto trying to warm it with his palms resting just above the glass.

They tried numerous times but still nothing happened, even Calum looked to be starting to lose hope.

"Oh well I guess there's always tomorrow." Calum sighed, trying his best to be cheery even though he could see the evident disappointment on Ashton's face. He'd been so excited to learn how to use his magic, that basically failing his first lesson felt like a major let down. Why couldn't he just use his powers like he wanted to?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! ^^


	4. Temporary

_**Temporary** : (adjective) lasting for only a limited period of time; not permanent._

_\--------_

The sun was still beating down harshly on both Calum and Ashton skin as they went outside late the next afternoon. There was a slight chill in the air forming. Luke, Michael and Jemma still hadn't returned as they'd left. After a late start and watching movies all morning, they'd decided to come outside so that Ashton could practice his powers. Ashton was dressed in some of his borrowed clothes; an old black t-shirt with a small rip in the bottom left corner and an older more worn looking pair of jeans. There had been better options but Calum had insisted he didn't wear anything too good as seasonal magic could get a little messy.

As they came to a large grassed area, Calum collected up a pile of fallen orange and brown leaves and dumped them in front of Ashton. Ashton stared at the leaves with a bemused expression. What did Calum expect him to do with them?

"I thought we'd try something I can control." Calum spoke as he stood across from him, "It might make things a bit more realistic for what you might face out there."

Realistic? Ashton could only think of Calum trying to choke him with the leaves again and he shivered. Calum didn't seem to notice Ashton's reaction. Instead Calum's eyes were on the leaves in front of them. He raised his hands, lifting them up into the air and allowing them to hover.

"I want you to try to make the leaves burn like you did the other night." Calum spoke, glaring across at Ashton. His expression was deadly serious. "Raise your hands and try willing them to burn."

Ashton nodded, that sounded easy enough. He raised his hands in front of him like Calum had taught him. He glared at the leaves intently, silently willing them to burn. He changed the words in his mind over and over. Yet, there was no warmth in his fingertips. He couldn't feel any sort of magic run through him like he had the night he'd set those leaves alight. All he felt like was some silly little kid playing wizards. It felt strange standing there holding his hands out to a bunch of leaves.

Noticing his student wavering, Calum tried using encouraging words over and over. Ashton tried his best to keep trying, but pretty soon his confidence was wavering. So much so that even Calum's words couldn't help him. 

After about half an hour, Ashton let out a resounding groan in frustration. It was a signal of defeat, as Ashton sat down on the grass turning away from the leaves. 

Realising defeat, Calum echoed his groan and allowed the leaves to drop back to the ground. He quickly swept them up into a far away pile with his abilities. The lesson now effectively, over. 

"You guys look like you're having fun." A teasing voice spoke from the side of them.

Ashton glanced up, finding that Michael was standing there with his arms crossed. He was dressed in dark jeans and wore a hoodie despite the mid spring weather. His blonde hair was covered with a beanie. He was glad to see that he had returned. Yet, Ashton wondered how long Michael had been standing there for watching his embarrassment.

"Yeah, tons." Calum replied sarcastically, looking almost like he wanted Michael to go away. "How'd the trip go?"

Michael didn't seem to notice Calum's sarcasam, "It was a bit of a dead end." Michael spoke bluntly with a sigh. Michael didn't seem to be thinking about that now though he looked around between Ashton and the leaf pile. He shook his head.

"You know maybe you should try using your powers against something that's the complete opposite of your season." Michael suggested looking at Ashton.

Ashton raised an uncertain eyebrow. Luke had seemed pretty against that when deciding who should stay with him. Calum let out a long sigh. Though before anyone could protest, Michael had already raised his arms. He directed his palms towards the ground first. His palms glowed with a bluish white light as hints of icy frost began to grow over the tips of the grass in front of them. From there Michael began to layer the ice, forming it into a solid rectangular ice-cube shape. He examined it for a moment nodded, before he looked back up at Ashton.

"I want you to try melting it." Michael suggested.

After his failure with the leaves, Ashton couldn't help but feel a little nervous and sceptical that Michael's plan would work. Yet he found himself nodding. Perhaps Michael was right, it might be easier to melt an ice-cube than it would be to burn leaves.

Ashton raised his arms and sucked in a deep breath once more, desperately trying to connect with his mysterious powers. Melt the ice. He thought over and over until he was sick of thinking it.

Yet once again nothing happened. He was left standing there in front of a massive ice-cube that only seemed to be melted by the lowering sun.

Michael and Calum started showering him with suggestions. He tried to follow them. He stood closer to the ice-cube, he tried holding the leaves in his hands. Realising he'd possibly set too high of a challenge, then Michael made him a handful of ice-cubes to practice with.

Ashton held them in his hands willing for them to melt at his own power. Yet he only felt them melting at the general warmth of his hands. There was nothing magic about it. His hands were just getting cold and wet.

"I'm useless." Ashton moaned, collapsing back onto the grass after at least another hour of practicing to no avail. "I can't do anything."

Michael and Calum shot one another worried glances.

Calum sighed, sitting down beside him, "It's not always easy, but it'll happen." Calum promised, his eyes were awash with sympathy. "You've already proved enough that you're one of us."

Ashton shot him back a grateful smile. He was a little relieved that Calum hadn't written him off yet. Though it only made him feel a little better, he knew their kindness and patience would only last so long. He wished he could a least do something, even just a small burn mark on a leaf or a bit of bright light from his hands would be enough to prove this wasn't a hoax.

"You know, I can turn you into a human popsicle again, if you want?" Michael grinned, sitting down beside Calum.

Ashton's mind flashed back quickly. He'd hated the feeling that had come with being frozen on the ground like that. He never wanted to be in that position again.

"No." Ashton shook his head quickly. He didn't care if that meant he could use his powers, it was too terrifying. He wanted to learn how to use them without being in some sort of life or death situation.

"Well the offers always there." Michael shrugged.

Ashton could see the evident disappointment in Michael's eyes. He could only think that Michael had actually wanted to have made Ashton into a human ice-cube. Though he could see the disapproving look in Calum's eyes that suggested that he probably wouldn't have let Michael do it anyway.

"What I don't understand is if I used my powers so easily the other night. Why can't I just use them now?" Ashton sighed hopelessly.

The two Guardians exchanged glances. They'd both been there and seen what he'd done. They had both been so certain that he had powers. Yet Ashton silently wondered if they were wrong.

"Perhaps you need more time." Calum frowned, "The three of us discovered our powers when we were much younger, eleven at most. Perhaps your just overthinking it."

Ashton knew Calum hadn't meant it that way, but the fact that he was older than they'd been when they'd discovered their powers was a little stab to his stomach. Why hadn't he shown signs of powers any earlier? It was strange. He put his face in his palms letting out a groan.

"True, I mean originally Cal and I's powers only came out when we were either angry or upset." Michael tried, looking to Calum for help who quickly nodded.

"And Luke's was only when he was in a good mood." Calum agreed. "Maybe that's it."

Michael nodded.

"Our point is that you shouldn't be too hard on yourself because you haven't got it yet." Calum spoke, his eyes directly on Ashton. He gestured towards Ashton's wrist where the sun mark now burned deep into its skin. "Maybe your powers are waiting for the right moment to show, but that mark is proof that they're there."

Ashton nodded. As much as he wanted his powers to show up again right away. He knew the two Guardians were right. He couldn't just expect to wave his arms around and be able to magically do things. It would take time.

"In any case, I think that's enough today." Calum nods, gesturing to the setting sun, "Shall we head back up towards the temple?"

Michael and Ashton both nodded, and the three of them started heading back towards the main building. It wasn't a long walk back, but soon a sweet aroma wafted up their noses. Calum's eyes seemed to light up instantly. Michael grinned.

"Yum, something smells good." Calum nodded.

"I'd know that cooking anywhere." Michael agreed with a nod.

Ashton looked between the two of them confusion wondering if they knew something that he didn't.

"Wait, do we have a cook?" Ashton blinked thinking of what Calum had said about them being like royalty.

Michael and Calum burst into laughter at that one. Ashton looked between them in confusion, had he said the wrong thing?

"Nah, Cal and Luke's mothers sometimes come up here to cook for us so we can have a meal together." Michael explains, "They must've heard about you and decided to come up."

Ashton realised that Michael didn't seem to mention his own mother, or parents for that matter. Though he decided not to push him for it. Maybe that part was more complicated that Michael was letting on. He knew how tough family could be sometimes.

"That's really sweet." Ashton found himself saying as they walked towards a small dining room that Ashton had only discovered the day before. It was usually just a plain room with a long table and a basic tablecloth. Though tonight it had transformed into an elaborate dinner setting. Plates were perfectly set out on the table with matching cutlery. Candles flickered around the table. Dozens of roses decorated the spaces in between. Making Ashton think of Luke.

Luke emerged a few moments later, "Hey guys, I guess you can figure out what night it is?"

"Of course, the smell from the end of the block gave it away." Michael smirked at him. Luke just let out a sigh.

"I told them not to do all this, but they heard about Ashton and you know how our mothers get..." Luke sighed.

"I think it's nice." Ashton smiled at him breaking him off.

Luke blinked in surprise, looking almost relieved to hear Ashton say that.

"Perfect timing, it sounds like they're back." A voice spoke from the room next door, that held the kitchen. A moment later and two people emerged from the kitchen carrying food. He could see the similarities between Luke and Calum immediately. Calum's face lit up as he ran over and took one of the trays from his mothers arms. They excitedly greeted each other, and Ashton realised that this wasn't something they clearly did too often. Both mothers turned to Michael, reacting to him almost the same way. Though soon everyone's eyes had turned to him.

"Ah, and you must be Ashton." The front woman spoke, smiling warmly, "I'm Luke's mum. It's lovely to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too." Ashton nodded feeling nervous as they laid the trays down on the table.

Soon everyone found a seat, Ashton sat down beside Calum. Michael sat on the other side of him, while Luke sat down across from them. Suddenly Jemma came dashing in at the last second and taking a seat next to Luke. They grinned at one another in a way that seemed to remind everyone at the table that they were together. Calum had told him last night that the two had been dating for an entire year now. Ashton was really happy for them. 

"Those two haven't been working you too hard have they?" Calum's mother smiled, noticing that none of them were really talking.

"No." He shook his head, though he was feeling a little tired. Trying to use magic and failing had still been exhausting.

"Mum..." Calum groaned, there was a slight clatter from under the table. Calum's mother shot her son an annoyed look.

Luke quickly changed the topic, talking about the rose garden that him and Jemma had been working on their return from their trip. Ashton tried to look interested but his thoughts were still on how he was going to get his magic to work. His mind raced through a million ideas of different hand movements and gestures that might work. 

However the conversation was interrupted, as the distinct buzzing of a phone broke through the air. Luke stood up quickly as he excused himself from the table. He raced out into the corridor. A look of evident concern came over the rest of the members of the table. Everyone was concerned over what could be so urgent.

Luke returned only a few minutes later with a grave expression on his face.

"Another disappearance?" Michael frowned, speaking almost telepathically as Luke re-joined the group. He sat almost robotically at the table, not making eye contact.

"Yeah." Luke replied flatly, his eyes on his plate in front of him.

It was obvious that the collective mood of the group, quickly dropped at Luke's words.

"It was another member of the council. She was only supposed to be out of the gates for a day or so. Yet according to the councils records it's almost been a week." He explained, his eyes still on the table, "The council had decided that they're going to take preventive measures. Council members and protectors have been banned from leaving the gates until they can figure out whether it's safe for everyone to keep coming and going between here and the outside world."

Ashton noticed the way that Jemma's hand reached over for Luke's. She gave it a tight squeeze. He gave a grateful nod to her.

"That's terrible." Luke's mother frowned, "There's been so many of us going missing."

"That's exactly what has the council so worried, when they couldn't get onto Jemma, they tried me." Luke frowned his eyes downcast.

Ashton sat there in silence as Luke went through the last few disappearances. The only pattern they had was that they were all powered people and they'd all left the gates at some point.

The rest of the dinner proceeded pretty standard, Luke and Calum's mothers asked Ashton more questions. No one brought up the disappearances again though. Despite Ashton's doubts he was glad at least that the food was good and instead focused on that. 

Ashton excused himself as the others went to the meeting room to discuss what was going to happen now. Thankfully, no one argued with him, especially due to his lack of powers. Though he did notice Calum's eyes linger on him with a tinge of worry as he left the room. 

Ashton returned instead up to his room. Lying flat on his bed. Some of the cupboards were still lined with a thin line of dust that suggested no one had used the room in years. Ashton wondered if perhaps he was even the first. He looked up at the sun mark on the ceiling feeling as though it was weighing down on him. It was a glaring reminder of who he supposedly was and what he was supposed to do. He sucked in a deep breath and wondered silently if he could ever live up to their expectations. He couldn't run from group meetings like tonight's forever.

Everything felt like it was catching up with him. Just a few days ago he'd just been trying to pass college and wondering why he was drawn to that mysterious gate each night. Now he was part of something bigger it seemed. Yet he wasn't sure he could handle it.

It was getting late, but Ashton knew he wouldn't be able to get much sleep. His thoughts were running in circles about what his purpose was here. He raised his arms up to the ceiling, pointing it up towards the wall. Ashton hoped that he'd at least see some of the magic he so apparently possessed. Yet like always nothing seemed to happen.

Ashton let out a frustrated huff, as his eyes rested on the sun shaped mark on his wrist. It was the proof that he should stay here, the proof that he was just like the rest of them.

There was a knock on the door, and Ashton blinked. Wondering who would come to visit him, the others would still probably be in their meeting. Slowly he rose from the bed and walked towards the door.

Standing there was Jemma, dressed in the pink dress she'd had on at dinner. Ashton was surprised to see her. They'd barely talked since he'd arrived here. 

"Hey, Ash can I speak with you for a moment?" Jemma spoke her eyes pleading to be let in.

Ashton bit his lip, should he really be letting her in? Of course, they were all his friends now. He shrugged, nodding. She took the seat on the wooden stool on the other side of the room. Ashton awkwardly sat on the bed.

"How are you going?" She asked, her voice laced with apparent concern.

Ashton was a little stunned by the question, but decided to answer her anyway. "To be honest I feel more lost and confused than ever." He admitted, the words spilling out on their own, "It feels like I'm supposed to be someone more than who I really am."

Jemma's eyes flashed with what looked to be recognition as she rocked gently on the stool. She pulled one leg up to her chest.

"I understand what you mean." Jemma nods, "There's dozens of us trained to be protectors. Only the best of us are able to pass the test and even have a shot at the job. Most of us usually just guard the wards but I was chosen by Luke and Calum to look after you guys. Sometimes I make terrible mistakes. Which sucks when I feel like I'm supposed to be something more spectacular."

Ashton nodded, he'd always viewed her as separate from the rest of the Guardians, but maybe there was more to her than he realised.

"How long do you train for to be a protector anyway?" Ashton asked.

Jemma nodded, "From the moment we first show any sign of powers." Jemma explains, "There's a smaller group of us, that posses what's known as spirits. Their a little like sparks but nowhere near as strong, they allow us to do what we can do. A lot of potentials drop out from the program though and just use their powers for things like the council or guarding the wards."

"I see." Ashton nodded. "Right now it doesn't even feel like I have powers, I can't do anything."

There was symphathy in Jemma's eyes, "Well maybe you don't have powers." She shrugged, "Maybe in that moment you did, but not anymore."

Ashton blinked at her in surprise. The three of them had been telling him it would take time, but she seemed to be saying the complete opposite.

"I mean it's possible. I've heard of this happening before. A person steps on the quarters, gains powers temporarily and then they're gone. Not that those three will tell you that." Jemma shrugged, "There hasn't been a Summer Guardian in centuries, of course they want to believe that one exists."

A twisting feeling rose in his stomach. It sounded almost exactly as Jemma had described. He'd showed no sign of powers until he'd stepped on that quarter. He'd used them back there in the fight. Was it possible that he was wasting his time here then?

"I must admit it's strange for someone outside the village to display powers. Whether you like it or not you're an outsider here Ashton." 

The words felt so true. He was an outsider here. He was already growing tired of the expectant looks everyone kept giving him. What if there really wasn't any reason for him to stay here after all.

"I hope I didn't worry you." She spoke, "But I thought you should know the truth so you don't get your hopes up too high."

"No thanks for letting me know." He told her with a nod, although he could feel the doubt sinking in.

They sat there in silence for a little while after that before Jemma excused herself, blaming tiredness. She promptly left, leaving Ashton alone in the room with just his thoughts.

He thought it over but one thought reigned supreme. He simply didn't think he was ready to be part of this. He focused his strength into his hands, desperately trying to show a sign of the magic that he possessed. Yet nothing happened. Maybe Jemma was right for a moment he'd had a spark but now he didn't at all.

He hesitated for a moment, perhaps he should go and talk to Calum about this. He seemed to be the most understanding of the three of them. Yet he had no idea what he was supposed to say. If Jemma was right that they were blindly believing in him. He would just pass his concerns off as trivial.

He grabbed his wallet and phone from the dresser. He sucked in a deep breath.

He needed out of here.

He was going to run. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! ^^
> 
> I'm really loving CALM, I've had it on repeat all week. I'm still trying to decide on a favorite song as it keep changing daily. Besides Teeth which I've already had on repeat for months, I'm really enjoying Red Desert, Old Me, Wildflower, Lover Of Mine, Best Years and Lonely Heart. :) What are your favorite songs so far?


	5. Ordinary

**_Ordinary_ ** _: (adjective) with no special or distinctive features; normal._

_\------_

Leaving had been much easier than Ashton had anticipated. He'd expected sirens, alarms and locked gates. Yet he'd walked his way straight through the gardens he'd originally come through that night. The cold night air biting his skin. He soon came to the silver gates that had been the start of this whole problem in the first place. Surprisingly, they'd opened automatically at his touch.

He hesitated for a moment; did he really want to do this?

He turned and looked behind him at the perfectly manicured hedges behind him. He knew he could just follow them back and talk to the others. He sucked in a deep breath. He knew how much belief the three of them had in him.

Yet after what Jemma had told him he just couldn't just stay here and wait for nothing to happen. 

Silently, he knew she was right. He was an outsider, he belonged outside these gates rather than in them. Besides if he wasn't magical, then the Reapers would never find him. They'd probably only found them the other night because of his quick fleeting show of power. It had been a miracle but also temporary.

Before he'd left, he'd given them the kindness of leaving a quick note with the word's thanks, and that he was sorry that he couldn't be who they wanted him to. He wished them well in finding the true summer guardian. He owed them at least that. 

He turned back around, taking another step through the gates. He was stunned to find that his old beaten up bike was sitting there waiting by the gates. He'd left it when Michael and Calum had teleported him here. He could only assume that someone had brought it back here after the other night. It would've only been left a few streets away.

His eyes scanned for a sign on that old man that had spoken to him, but it seemed he wasn't lingering here tonight. He could only imagine what that guy might say, 'I tried to warn you, son.' or something of that description. For a moment Ashton wondered if that guy had known about the world hidden behind the gates. Whether he knew of the Guardians or the magic they possessed. Maybe he'd once made the same decision Ashton had to run from it. 

He walked over to his bicycle and swept the cobwebs from it. He clambered onto it, quickly testing that both the gears and brakes worked before he made it too far. It seemed the ice that had jammed the wheels only night earlier had long melted. Pleased with the bike's condition, he put his feet to the pedals and rode the few streets back to his house.

A swell of relief washed over him when he noticed that the soft yellow light filtering out from the living room's window. He rummaged in his pockets for the keys as he pulled his bicycle to a stop and left it out on the front porch. As quietly as possible he turned the key in the lock and walked into the main hallway.

There was a high -pitched laugh, a soft blue light streaming from the living room. Ashton's shoulder's relaxed at the normalcy of it all. He turned the corner finding that his house mate, Cooper was slumped back on the couch with a bowl of popcorn in hand watching the television. He was dressed casually in jeans and a t-shirt. At Ashton's entrance, his head tilted up, his blue eyes stared at Ashton for a moment as if were a ghost that had come back to life.

"Ash?" Cooper asked, his voice filled with disbelief. He rose from the couch, narrowly catching the bowl of popcorn before it fell. A few stray contents spilled onto the couch, but Cooper didn't seem to notice. 

He stood staring at Ashton, shaking his head from side to side, as he continued, "I received your text, but where on Earth have you been, mate?" He asked, his eyes filled with concern.

Ashton just shook his head, there was no way he could answer that question when he honestly wasn't entirely sure himself. Cooper bit his lip, when Ashton didn't respond.

"I'm sorry if I worried you but I was caught somewhere for a little while. It's okay though because I'm back now." Ashton explained as calmly as possible, though his voice cracked slightly in certain places as he said it.

Ashton knew he could never speak of anything he'd seen behind those gates. He wanted to put the Reapers and Guardians as far out of his mind as possible. He'd walked away from it all now, he no longer needed to have anything to do with them. Their problems were no longer his.

"Good, you had me terrified something bad had happened, I was pretty close to calling the police even." Cooper frowned looking his friend up and down suspiciously. He knew that Ashton hadn't been in those clothes when he left, his hair was a mess and there were bags under his eyes as well, suggesting a lack of sleep. "You look like you've been through hell though..."

"Something like that." Ashton shrugged, he looked at the screen, unsure of the movie that was now playing. There was a group of women at a party on the screen. He decided to change the subject, "What are you watching?"

"Some cheesy romance movie..." Cooper sighed, pulling a face, already distracted from their previous conversation, "I was actually thinking of turning it off soon."

"Lies." Ashton smirked at him, "I know how much you fall for those types of movies."

"True. You caught me." Cooper laughed, before reaching over for the remote control and pausing the screen. "There's still more popcorn. Do you want to watch something else then?"

Ashton was uncertain for a moment. After what had happened, the suggestion of just sitting down to watch a movie seemed odd. Too normal. Yet that was exactly what Ashton wanted right now, something normal. Even if there was a good chance, he'd fall asleep part way through the movie from exhaustion.

He nodded settling into the couch as Cooper chose them both a new movie from the online options. He didn't pay much attention to the title, and absent-mindedly started to eat the popcorn as the movie began.

"Cool. Did you get a new tattoo while you were away?" Cooper asked.

Ashton blinked, turning to see what Cooper was referring too. He was gesturing directly to the sun mark on Ashton's wrist.

Ashton's stomach twisted at the stark reminder of the past few days. He quickly placed his other hand over it, trying to cover it. He knew Cooper would never understand what it might have meant. He didn't want to draw attention to it. Despite his doubts, Calum's warnings were still fresh in his head. There was still a slightly paranoid part of himself that wondered if a Reaper was lurking and could hear him.

"Uh, yeah...though I've had it for a while." Ashton replied, as if it were nothing. He knew a real tattoo wouldn't have healed in three days. He tried to hide the nervousness in his voice, but it was still evident. He moved his hand away from it. Deciding to pretend that it was normal.

"I see." Cooper nodded, though he gave a final suspicious glance at it.

Avoiding Cooper's glances, Ashton focused on the movie on screen. It was a dramatic movie about spies and the people that were on the run from him. As one of the members started to give a pep talk to the others about the importance of them working as a team. A hint of guilt filled Ashton's mind as he was reminded of the guardians.

The team that he'd run away from. 

As the events unfolded Ashton's thoughts grew stronger. He started to wonder whether he should've told at least Calum he was leaving, possibly talked it through with him. Yet he knew Calum would've talked him out of it or wouldn't have let him leave. Yet if there was a high chance, he wasn't really a guardian was it worth him staying to talk to anyone?

"You know I'm getting tired; I think I'm going to turn in for the night." Ashton spoke, letting out a sharp yawn for effect. He already started rising from the couch to prove his point. 

"What!? We're still only halfway through the movie?" Cooper frowned.

"It's okay, finish it without me." Ashton nodded, standing now. He couldn't properly explain it to Cooper. But he wanted to go back to his room. Where he could be alone.

Cooper didn't protest again, and Ashton quickly fled up the staircase to his room before his friend could change his mind.

Once he was there, he sucked in a deep breath collapsing onto the floor, He let his head rest up against the doorway. He closed his eyes and titled his head backwards in attempt to calm his thoughts. After a moment, he straightened his head and reopened his eyes. He took in his room for a moment. A coffee cup and a book sitting on the bedside table. His desk, the posters on the wall. It was like walking back into someone else’s life. There wasn't the blankness, or the sun on the ceiling like the one back with the Guardians. It was jarring being back here.

After another few moments, he rose again and walked across the room. He stopped at his still open window and shut it. Then he started to shut the fabric curtains. Pausing, only as something caught his eyes. He frantically reopened it. Swearing that he had seen the hint of eyes in the trees behind the fence in their backyard. Yet by the time he'd opened the window back up enough, the eyes were gone. Someone wouldn't have followed him here; the Guardians probably hadn't even realised that he was gone yet. He was just imagining things. 

Wasn't he?

****

The next day when Ashton woke up, he found Cooper fast asleep on the couch. Covered in popcorn that he'd undoubtedly dropped the rest of once sleep had taken him. Deciding to let his friend sleep, he headed outside towards his bicycle choosing to head towards the nearby bakery.

He had time; he was still on holidays from his classes so he could do whatever he wanted.

Though as he strapped on his helmet to begin his journey; his eyes kept lingering on the sun mark on his wrist. It didn't show any sign of fading. He knew he hadn't had it before he'd used magic. Though he reminded himself that Jemma has said that could happen that people could have a mark, but it wasn’t real. He tried not to think about it as he produced the wristbands from his pockets that Calum had given him to cover it.

He felt guilty for leaving Calum the most out of anyone. He'd been so kind and had wanted to help. Yet he knew now that he didn't belong there. His powers weren't real, so he was no use to them. He was sure the mark would fade soon, but it the mean time he wasn't taking any chances.

He rode around town on his bike for a little while, thankful that Michael hadn't trashed it with his powers. Soon he came to the bakery, choosing something for both Cooper and himself. He knew he'd put Cooper through hell these past few days by disappearing like he had. He owed him one.

As he passed the money to the cashier, he frowned noticing a young man with curly blonde hair watching him from across the road. He was dressed in black ripped skinny jeans and wore a light blue hoodie. He was staring directly at him, the corner of his lips tilted into a smug grin as Ashton's eyes fell on him. The look faded away a moment later, leaving Ashton slightly shaken. 

"Here's your change."

Ashton blinked, turning back to the strawberry blonde-haired cashier who was offering him his change. Ashton shuffled awkwardly as he took it from her, feeling his cheeks flush.

When Ashton looked up again, the young man with the blonde hair was gone. He shook his head; he was being paranoid. There was no one watching him. 

Moving quickly, he thanked the woman and dashed out of the bakery. He returned to his bike, frowning as he noticed a lined paper note stuck to the front handlebars. He folded it open staring for a moment at the messy scrawled black blob on the page. There were no words just the ink. 

He looked around, searching for the person who'd left it. Yet there was only a young couple and a mother with two kids. It was strange.

A marketing strategy? Ashton wondered to himself as he ripped up the note and stuffed it into a nearby bin. 

Yet as he rode back towards home, he couldn't help but wonder whether the note had something to do with the past few days. 

He saw a flicker of a person with blonde hair standing by the side of the road, their eyes directly on him. With a slight turn of his head, he clamped his hands onto the brake. He barely stopped himself momentarily from going over the handlebars. Landing onto the bike seat with a thunk. 

He searched around him. Yet there was nothing around except the sound of a lawn mower in the distance. He took a deep breath, willing himself to stay calm as his heart thumped in his chest. It was nothing. He was fine. He took another deep breath. 

After a nervous few moments standing there on the side of road, he started to ride again. Yet part of him couldn't shake the note or the person watching him from the side of the road from his mind. He didn't feel safe until he'd lead his bike onto the front porch and closed the door behind him. 

Coopers head poked out of the living room a moment later, his eyes lit up as he spotted the brown paper bag that Ashton was carrying. He didn't notice how nervous he was.

"I knew I could count on you." Cooper grinned, as Ashton handed him his share of the food, he'd bought from the bread shop.

"Yeah." Ashton mused, as his friend started to eat. 

Ashton excused himself before leaving back up to his room. He didn't feel like breakfast small talk right now. As he arrived back in his room, he pulled out his wallet and phone. Blinking as he saw something fall out from between the two objects. He frowned noticing the pink piece of paper on the floor. He leaned over and picked it up from the floor, carefully opening its folded form. There was another black inky blob, though he noticed that this one had lines extending out from it. Making it look like the sun. He stared at it for a moment thinking he'd imagined it. Yet the lines were messy but clear of their intent. It was a sun.

Like the one in the room. The mark on his wrist. 

No. Ashton didn't believe that thought. It meant nothing; he was truly being paranoid now. It was just some marketing strategy. Perhaps the lady at the bakery had handed him it while he took his change. It wasn't as if he'd been paying attention then. Like the other one, he ripped it into tiny pieces and chucked the note into the bin.

Yet even by ripping it up, he still couldn’t get the image of that inky sun shaped mark out of his mind. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! ^^


	6. Spark

**_ Spark _ ** _: (noun) 1. a small fiery particle thrown off from a fire, alight in ashes, or produced by striking together two hard surfaces such as stone or metal. 2. a small amount of a quality or intense feeling._

_——-_

For the next few days, those mysterious notes and that guy with the blonde hair remained in Ashton's mind. He wondered whether they were connected or even important. He was hesitant about leaving the house, concerned that something similar would happen. Instead he chose to stay home and enjoy what was left of the brief break between classes and from his part-time job. He soon forgot about Guardians and Reapers. The only reminder was the sun-shaped mark on his wrist that he usually kept covered. Yet he had begun to grow lax, leaving it in full view.

That was until Cooper declared that they needed to go shopping, and as Cooper had work that day it was up to Ashton to do the job. Ashton wanted to protest, but Cooper was right they were running out of food and with no other reasonable excuse it was up to him to do it.

With a sigh, Ashton took a picture of the shopping list on his phone. Cooper gave him some money and headed out the door. He hopped on his bike and pedalled it the few blocks north to the grocery store.

The grocery store was nothing impressive, it was a rather long building with one electronic door that was used as an entry and exit. It had a small seating area out front with a paved area in front of it. There was a bike rack, and he led his bike over to it. Which he chained his bike up to before leaving it.

He entered the store and began to collect the items that he needed. Among other things he grabbed some cheese, pasta, a packet of flour, milk, and a jar of Vegemite. Like any other shopping trip, he took them to the cashier to pay for them.

However, that was also when the problems started.

Ashton thought for a moment that he was being paranoid again when he noticed someone watching him from outside the window. They were young by the looks of it. They were dressed completely in black from head to toe. Dressed in black skinny jeans and a matching hoodie. They had one visible piecing eye that seemed to watch his every movement. The other was hidden by the shadow of his hoodie that was pulled up over his head. They had curly blonde hair like the guy who had been watching him the other day. In fact, Ashton was sure it was him again. 

He noticed the way his eyes seemed to follow his hands as he passed the required money over to the cashier. Why was he so interested in him?

Ashton let out a long sigh. He was being paranoid, the two guys he had seen were just similar. Reapers were not a concern. He did not have powers and he could not use them again. There was no way they would be able to find him. Nobody was watching him that closely and there was no one after him. He tried to convince himself, but he was not so sure. He was positive that it was the same guy watching him from the bakery the other day.

Feeling slightly awkward, he thanked the cashier as she handed him his receipt. He shuffled away and headed outside towards his bicycle not exchanging glances with anyone or checking to see if that guy was still watching him. His bike was soon in clear sight. Still waiting right at the bike rack where he had left it. Though he could not help but quickly scan his eyes over it for one of those weird notes like the other day. Yet the bike remained untouched.

He grabbed his helmet out of the basket, trading it for the shopping. He leant down to the lock on his bike and began turning the numbers to their ideal positions.

It was then that a sharp pain struck him in the gut. It felt like someone had knifed him right in the stomach. He arched forwards grabbing for his stomach whilst holding himself up on his bikes frame. He let out a groan as he tried to feebly to grab for the handlebar to pull himself up.

Before he had a chance to look around, he was struck by another much more painful wave in the same spot. He knew this was not a coincidence, as he curled up on the ground beside his bike. The pain was getting worse as he started begging for the intense pain that was now spreading through his entire body to stop. He could hear his blood pumping in his ears, his heart thundering in his chest.

A dark shadow fell over him, he tilted his head enough that he could see a person dressed in a thick black coat standing above him. They wore an intricate white and shimmering half mask that covered the left side of their face. Their hand was raised in front of them, a dim red light spread from their palm to the rest of their hand. As the light spread so too did the pain that was coursing through Ashton's body. Ashton winced, raising his hand to his eyes to shield them.

He let out a sharp yell hoping to draw some attention, surely someone was seeing this? Yet no one came, as the red light continued to grow. Pretty quickly it felt like his entire body was being ripped apart from the inside out. Ashton peeked through his hands noticing the way the red glow shifted to a softer yellowish white one. Ashton lowered his hands and looked down at his chest noticing the matching yellowish orange colour. Suddenly, he was back in one of the conversations he had had with Calum about Guardians and sparks.

A thought came to mind. He didn't think he had one but was this a spark? Was this person a Reaper who was trying to take it? He was starting to grow more and more certain. The realisation was terrifying.

There was seemingly nothing he could do to stop them. He could feel himself growing weaker and weaker. His entire form soon grew limp and pale as his head crashed against the front wheel of his bike. He suddenly felt so stupid as his eyes blinked back sleep.

Suddenly, a thick green vine grew up right up in front of him. It spiralled around his attackers' arm and twisted it upwards towards the sky. The man let out a grunt, and the light in both the person's hand and Ashton's chest began to fade. The attacked let out a confused yell, as his entangled hand moved around wildly like a puppet on a string. The attackers head whipped around to something behind him, and he let out a frustrated grunt.

Feeling slightly dizzy, Ashton sat up and slumped against his bike as the pain faded from his body, he could already feel his strength returning to him.

Yet as he sat up, he realised that a battle was not raging right before him. At least another four or five people dressed in black cloaks or just black clothing had appeared now. Their hands were illuminated with lights of various colours that shot all around the paved area before him. He could see a blonde with chin length hair, standing there now. He was dressed in denim jeans and a white t-shirt. His hands were glowing green and his blue eyes were narrowed on Ashton's attacker. A swell of relief rose in Ashton chest as he recognised it to be Luke. Luke's hands were moving wildly as more and more vines grew up around Ashton's original attacker. They soon encased him completely in a prison made solely of plants. The man struggled against them, causing the plants to shake. Yet it seemed that the vines were much too strong to be broken by something like that.

Luke turned suddenly as his eyes met with another man who was dressed in a black coat who had creeping up from behind. Luke's eyes widened in alarm as the man raised his palms, as they glowed with a strong blue light.

Though Ashton noticed, a person dressed in black jeans and a dark green hoodie. It was Calum, who was standing behind looking deadly. Crinkled, bright orange autumn leaves danced around him like they were in a ballet. Suddenly Calum's hands shot forwards and they shot towards the second man like bullets. They stuck to the man's skin as they made contact, flattening out and forcing him towards the ground. Ashton's mind flashbacked to the other night and his own experiences with Calum's powers.

There was little time for either of the Guardians to take a breather, as the remaining Reapers launched their powers at them. Luke and Calum did their best to match them. Autumn leaves were soon soaring through the air, and thick, fast-moving vines seemed to grow up from the ground on their own. As the two of them shot out their own powers. Though Ashton noticed the way that Luke and Calum shot each other hesitant looks as they passed one another during the dangerous dance.

It was long though before a third figure leaped down from above the shopping complex. The moment that Ashton saw the blonde hair, black beanie, and the glowing whitish blue hands; he was positive that he knew who it was. Soon Michael's icy barbs were spreading everywhere, turning seemingly everything, they touched into ice statues. Soon the remaining Reapers were icy works of art, unable to move or attack.

They were incredible. Ashton thought to himself, he was starting to understand why the three of them were called Guardians. They were indeed people to be admired. No wonder the people in the streets had reacted to Calum the way they had.

Though Ashton couldn't help but feel slight jealous. As Calum raced over to his side. Soon checking him over like he was a patient in an emergency room. Ashton was too stunned for a moment to reply, Calum might as well have been yelling at him underwater for all his brain could process.

"I think he's gone into shock." He heard a voice say, as his thoughts began to come back to.

Someone was shaking his hand, and he blinked as he came back to reality. His whole body was shaking, his heart thumping in his ears. Calum was still the one beside him, but both Luke and Michael were hovering on either side. Their eyes were filled with concern. They were still in front of the supermarket.

"It's alright I'm fine." Ashton told them, half incoherently. "What happened?" He managed to ask before anyone could speak.

A relieved look fell on the three Guardians faces, though their expressions quickly turned sour.

"You almost had your spark taken." Calum explained, in a flat tone. His expression was grave.

Ashton's hands went almost instinctively towards his chest. So, he had been right about that light then. He suddenly felt incredibly stupid.

"Why did you run Ash?" Luke frowned; his voice was laced with concern. Both Michael and Calum shot him an annoyed glance. "You know it's not safe out here outside the gates. If there was something wrong, you should've told us."

Ashton sighed; he should've known that would be the first thing someone would want to know.

He did not want to tell them that the real reason he had left been because of Jemma's words. Though now that he'd seen that he in fact did have a spark. He wasn't so certain of who and what he believed anymore. Why had Jemma tried so hard to convince him otherwise? He did not want to dob her words of advice into the others though. He knew she had only been trying to help.

"It's obvious Luke." Calum jumped in before he turned back to Ashton. Calum's gaze was sympathetic, "We shouldn't have been pushing you so hard. No wonder you ran."

Luke looked confused. Though Ashton realised that Calum understood it. He knew the moment he had thought of running he should have gone to see Calum. He would have talked him out of it or at least helped him to find a better plan.

"Still you should have told us you were having doubts Ashton." Luke stressed looking slightly annoyed.

Ashton let out a long sigh. It was so easy for Luke to say that he supposed. Luke, Calum and probably Michael had been brought up with this their entire lives at least that's what they made it seem like.

"I didn't know how to." Ashton admitted looking between the three of them. "I barely know any of you. You guys have so much faith in me. Everyone's so excited about something I don't feel like I can live up to." He told them, "I can't shoot fireballs out of my hands like you expect me to. So, I still don't know what I want to do."

The three guardians exchanged worried glances.

"Well look powers or not. It's clear the Reapers are still after you. This afternoon was proof enough of that." Luke frowned.

"So, I'll stay with you guys for now." Ashton spoke harshly before Luke could continue. Luke blinked in surprise. That was going to have to be his choice, today was proof enough of that. He was totally spooked.

Luke seemed to consider his words for a moment. He looked between the others who nodded.

"Fine." Luke nodded, "I promise we won't pressure you into using your powers or taking your place as a guardian." Luke sighed, "How does that sound, do we have a deal?"

Ashton thought about it, Luke was basically swearing to protect him from the Reapers attacking him again. While also allowing him exactly what he wanted, time. Time to figure out this mess before he fully committed to any part of it.

Ashton nodded, "We have a deal."

Calum gave a small cheer, which only Michael seemed to notice. Michael shot Calum a quick smile. Luke wasn't listening, he was biting on his lip.

Luke was nodding, "Though I think I should stress that in order to avoid events like today you should learn to mask your powers."

"Luke." Calum spoke sharply, giving the other Guardian a warning glance. He'd just promised not to talk to Ashton about powers or any sort of pressure to use them. It had barely been more than a few seconds and he was already doing it. Ashton doubted that this was going to work.

"Alright, look forget it. We can talk about it later." Luke quickly back tracked, shooting a slightly nervous look at Calum.

"In any case, I think we should get going." Michael frowned, glancing up around them, "This barrier is going to fade soon, and we don't want to leave ourselves open to the Reapers...or any unsuspecting ordinary folk for that matter."

Barrier? Ashton raised an eyebrow. He wondered if that's why no one had heard him scream. It made sense, although he had no idea how it worked. Though he supposed with magic on the cards anything was possible. He made a mental note to ask Calum or Michael about it later.

Luke nodded, "True. We'll continue this conversation back at home, then."

Home. Ashton hesitated realising that he meant that building, that courtyard and the room with the sun on its roof. Was that home now?

"You're coming back with us, right?" Luke asked with an accusing frown.

Ashton felt a lump in his throat, "Yeah, I guess so, but do I have time to go back to the house?" He gestured up to shopping to prove his point.

Luke frowned, but nodded. "Yes, as long as you're quick. We'll all teleport there."

It would be enough. Though there was one thing bothering him, Ashton blinked. Teleport there? He had only teleported once, and that had been the other night. He was a little nervous.

"You're all coming?" Ashton blinked.

"It'll be safer." Michael nodded, before Luke could respond. "The Reapers could still be tracking you."

Of course. Ashton realised. He suddenly didn't feel so stupid for thinking that someone had been watching him once he'd left those gates. They began to explain how to teleport, much less hastily than Michael and Calum grabbing his arms the other night. Though as Luke revealed they had been keeping an eye on him and therefore knew where he lived already. Ashton was fuming slightly.

"Did you think we wouldn't have been keeping an eye on you?" Luke had questioned. "Once Calum found that note we knew something was up, we had to make sure the Reapers weren't following you. Which obviously they were."

At Luke's words, Ashton toned down a little and apologised profusely. He let them instruct him on how he could take the bike with them, by simply having his hand on it. He unleashed it from the chain as the others moved into formation. With one hand on the bike and the other in Calum's, he felt the thrum of energy in his hands. Suddenly the world was spinning, and they were standing out on the front porch.

"You have five minutes, be quick. Calum will go in with you." Luke spoke, sounding rather official. Calum just looked surprised, as Luke pushed him after Ashton.

Knowing he did not have long. Ashton left the groceries on the table. Calum put some of the stuff that needed to go in the fridge away, whilst Ashton scribbled out a note to Cooper, letting him know he needed to disappear again for a little while and he would be back soon. Not that he knew how long soon was going to be anyway. He knew his friend would be getting rather suspicious of him, but with the five-minute rule and Cooper at work still he did not have a lot of options.

With that done, Calum and Ashton re-joined the others outside before teleporting right back to the front gate just as the sun was setting. Luke looked confused. "We were supposed to come in right at the courtyard?"

"Odd." Calum commented. "That's what I thought too."

Michael did not seem to be listening, his eyes were trained on the sky, where there were bright flashes of light near where the main grounds and the rest of the village were. There were the faint roars of screams.

"That's not good." Michael frowned his eyes on the lightning bolt like rifts in the sky.

There was a large burst of light like an explosion, then screams. "That's really not good." Calum added, his eyes now following Michael's like the rest of them.

That was when they spotted the cloaked person standing at the edge of the hedges. A look of horror fell on the Guardians faces, Ashton shrinked back as Luke stood across the three of them almost protectively. Both Michael and Calum's hands instantly illuminated with their respective lights.

Luke's phone buzzed and hesitantly he reached for it, managing to grab it without his eyes leaving the Reapers. His eyes flickered to the message for a moment.

"It's Jemma, the Reapers have invaded the village… I'm getting Ash out of here." Luke quickly spoke, already turning. Both Calum and Michael nodded as they moved to either side of him. Luke tugged on Ashton's stunned arm.

Realising what Luke was intending, Ashton pulled away. He shook his head. He'd just reunited with them. He had just agreed to stay. He was not splitting up from the now. Especially after what he had just seen. Luke needed to stay here with Michael and Calum.

"Come on, Ashton. We need to leave now. It's not safe for you here."

"What about them?" Ashton asked, gesturing to Calum and Michael who were already racing towards the Reaper that was racing towards them. Both their hands were blazing with light.

Luke let out a long sigh, before placing both his hands-on Ashton's shoulders. He looked into Ashton's eyes; his expression was stern. "They'll both be fine, but we need to move."

Ashton hesitated once more. He was still uncertain that Luke's idea was the best plan. Yet as he looked to Michael and Calum who were now battling the Reaper, he knew they did not have a lot of choice. Besides, he knew from experience they could handle themselves. Whereas he could not, he had been rendered useless in seconds. Ashton nodded and allowed Luke to lead him away. As he heard another loud crash, he turned, gasping as the sky turned to orange. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! ^^


	7. Mask

**_ Mask _ ** _: (Noun) 1. a covering for all or part of the face, worn as a disguise, or to amuse or frighten others. (Verb) 2. conceal (something) from view._

_\-------_

Ashton was shivering as he sat on the cold hard ground. He was petrified. His entire body trembling slightly. He had his ears covered but he could still hear the loud noises and yells from outside their tiny shack they were hiding in.

When the Reaper had showed up, Luke had led him to an old yet sturdy house on top of the hill. Yet the dilapidated building was drafty, and the floor was made of a cool marble. Small puffs of breath rose from both of their mouths as they waited. It was so cold that if felt almost like Michael was using his icy powers on the whole room.

Luke seemed to jump at every sound from the outside world. The calm composure that he usually held was quickly fading. There was a look of genuine fear in his blue eyes as he watched out from a small frosted glass window that looked out the hills around them.

He wouldn't let Ashton anywhere near it.

Ashton sucked in a deep breath, he could only hope that Calum and Michael were doing okay out there. He'd seen one Reaper inside the gates but judging by the sky and Jemma’s text there could be thousands more.

He thought of the barriers that were supposed to be protecting this place. That had been why he'd agreed to come back. Was it possible that the Reapers had worked out how to break through them?

He wished that Luke weren't stuck here protecting him. He knew deep down that Luke should be out there helping Calum and Michael.

In fact, he knew that they both should be.

Yet Ashton knew his help would be useless. He might technically be a Guardian, but he knew he couldn't even make a spark of flame. Let alone use it to keep an entire horde of Reapers at bay. He was nothing like the proper Summer Guardian that they expected him to be. Even now when they needed him most.

His finger circled the sun shaped mark on his wrist. He knew that it was the reminder that he wasn't powerless. He let out a long sigh resting his head against the wall behind him. Pity he still couldn't do a single thing. He hated feeling so weak.

Suddenly there was a loud bang from just outside, and a bright pink light crackled like lightning and illuminated the small room. Ashton pulled his arms around himself, in a way that he hadn't done since he was a small child. He'd been petrified of lightning storms back then. He'd spend hours tucked up in cupboards or any kind of small place that he could find just to hide from the storm. Yet as he'd grown older, he'd learned to appreciate the lightning. Nowadays he'd sit watching it from his bedroom anticipating each crash and bolt. There was something beautiful in their chaos.

For a moment Luke shot Ashton a nervous glance, but his eyes returned outside the window. Ashton wanted to ask him if this was normal, but the dark expression in Luke's eyes told him not to ask.

Suddenly, there was a loud creak, as beams of sharp white light streamed into the room. Both Luke and Ashton's eyes turned to the door in alarm. A second later the door crashed open, and it fell forwards to the ground with a clatter.

As fast as a cheetah, Luke moved to stand in front of Ashton with his hands raised. They were suddenly flowing with an eerie green light, ready to strike. Ashton sucked in a deep breath as he braced himself for the appearance of a shadowy Reaper who had found them.

Instead, there was a girl standing in the doorway with long blond hair and piercing green eyes dressed all in white. Her hands were blazing with a pure white light.

"Oh, it's just you." Luke spoke, lowering his hands as the two of them realised that it was just Jemma.

"Don't sound so disappointed." Jemma teased, with a knowing smirk. "I'm here to help get you guys out of here."

"You know I didn't mean it like that." Luke added, as the green glow disappeared from his palms. 

"Of course, you didn't." She smiled, though her eyes flickered back outside as a huge crash of light blue light illuminated the sky. She bit her lip, looking slightly nervous. "In any case, I think we should get moving. I think I've found a safer place that we can protect Ashton."

Ashton hated the idea of being protected by the others, but he knew he had to go along with it. His idea not to listen to the others, had ended with him getting attacked by the Reapers. He had no plan to repeat the mistake.

A flicker of doubt crossed Luke’s expression for a moment before being replaced with a look of relief.

"Excellent." Luke nodded a moment later. Before he turned to Ashton and helped him up from the floor.

From there, Jemma lead the way as they left the derelict building whilst Luke and Ashton followed behind. They ran through trees and grassed areas. As the sky lit up above them, Ashton turned his head towards the village where there were dozens of multi-coloured lights flinging into the air. Part of him still yearned to be of some help.

They continued along together for a while after that. Soon the yells and flashed from the fight were quickly fading until they were just a low thrum in the distance. Jemma began to slow, so Luke and Ashton did as well. The place where they were now was deserted, the only sound came from the crickets in the trees surrounding them.

Luke was beginning to look puzzled, he slowed to a complete stop. Ashton let out a small yell as he barely stopped himself from colliding into him. Luke stepped away from him, his eyes scanning around them.

"Wait…there's nothing over this side of the gates..." Luke trailed off, his entire body suddenly stiffening, he shot her a concerned look, "Jemma? Where on Earth are you taking us?"

There was no response for a moment. Until a white burst of light shot through the air in front of him. Luke let out a pained yell as it hit him straight in the gut. He flew backwards through the air, his entire body colliding with a nearby tree.

Ashton's eyes winded but suddenly, there was a second beam of light that went shooting through the air towards him. He tried to move, but the light struck him in his right leg. Sending a shooting pain right up it. Ashton reached down towards his leg, finding that it came back with a large amount of heavy sticky blood. Disorientated, he looked back up towards the source of the lights, just in time to see the light fading from Jemma's fingertips. She frowned at Ashton who was hurt but still standing.

He stared back at her in disbelief. Had she been the one to do this? What on Earth was she thinking? They were all friends, weren't they? Why was she attacking them?

Frowning, Jemma rose her arm again, she shot another beam of light towards Ashton. A sharp pain coursed through his chest as he was sent back flying. He let out a grunt as he rolled on the grass, sending dirt and mud flinging around him before coming to a stop.

Ashton rose his head, the pain much more intense now from being struck a second time. He watched as Jemma's attention turned back to Luke. Her eyebrows were narrowed on him, as he began to pull himself upwards. Jemma's palms illuminated with a white light once more, before she shot the light towards Luke. For a moment Ashton couldn't see him, as he was engulfed in the light.

A long painful moan escaped from Luke's lip as the light faded and Luke's entire form crumpled forwards. His forehead was bleeding, the blood running down the left side of his face. He clutched at his stomach. He managed to glare up at he with a mixture of intense pain and utter disbelief.

In a desperate panic Ashton tried to stand as the world spun before his eyes. Yet his confidence faltered as he was stuck with a third painful beam of light that struck him in his left shoulder. The force pushed him to roll again as he flew into the air landing on his back. He clenched his teeth as his head hit the ground.

A second later and another bright light lit up above him as a second groan echoed his own. His vision was slightly blurry as he pulled himself up onto his good shoulder. He frowned noticing on the other side the tear and blood staining his shirt.

Yet that wasn't a large concern compared to what he was witnessing. Jemma was no longer where she had started. She was standing over Luke now, a ball of white-hot energy in her hand. Luke looked helpless before her, his entire form was limp, and pale slumped up against the tree behind him. His lips were stained with blood, and the blood was still streaming from his forehead. Luke's hands hung limply at his sides; both were covered in blood.

Luke rose his head and looked up at her weakly. There was confusion in his expression as he seemed to realise what this all added up to. His words were strung out and weak, "I can't believe you. Why would you betray us?"

"I saw through the lies." She narrowed his eyebrows at him, before gesturing around them. "This entire life, this world that you, hideaway in shouldn't exist. You three walk around like gods and expect people to follow you. You fight off Reapers claiming they're the bad guys. When their very power would bring a better life to all of us. These lies end now."

Ashton’s heart skipped a beat in realisation. She was supporting the Reapers?

"You swore to protect us from them." Luke spoke bitterly, as he shook his head in disbelief.

"Once upon a time I believed in you." She continued, her expression cold, "Yet it didn't take me long to realise that perhaps these so-called guardians weren't who I should be protecting." She scoffed, "You're all just a spoiled bunch of kids with magic powers."

"Who keep everyone safe." Luke defended, with a scowl, "You have no idea what you're doing, Jem. The Reapers will kill you all."

"That's what you all want us to believe. So, you can keep up your little act." Jemma shook her head, she smiled at him, " Once I collect up all the Guardians Sparks, soon everyone will understand, how useless you three were. Shame you won't be around to see it. You’re so blind. It was so easy to deceive you and make you fall in love with me.”

Luke's entire expression paled at that. Ashton's heart sunk; he knew what Jemma meant to him. They were more than friends. He loved her, but in the end, it was all an act.

"I thought you loved me." Luke spoke quietly, the hurt evident in his voice.

Jemma simply smirked at him once she noticed his disappointment. Yet Ashton noticed the light green light building up in Luke's fingertips. He narrowed his eyebrows, as his irises glowed with a bright green that Ashton had never seen him use before. His hands fully ignited into a bright green light. The soil at Jemma's feet seemed to burst from the ground, as green plant vines rapidly around her legs and moving up her entire body.

Jemma raised her hands as the vines snaked at her middle. Her palms glowed with a bright white light that she sent crashing towards the ground in Luke's direction. He disappeared in a crash of light as Luke's loud scream broke through the night.

The vines seemed to die and whither almost immediately before crumpling in a heap at Jemma's feet. As the light faded, Luke slumped back up against the tree, looking weaker than ever. His face was pale, his entire form trembling as his eyes struggled to stay open. Everywhere Ashton's eyes looked there was blood. Oh god, he thought. He was going to have to watch Luke die.

"Not so powerful, now are we?" Jemma taunted.

Luke was too weak to answer, his head didn't even move, and he didn't quip back a response. Jemma leaned forwards, reaching towards Luke's chest. A wave of panic raced through Ashton's mind. He knew enough by now that she was leaning in to take his spark. She really did intend to kill him. Her words hadn't been empty or meaningless.

Ashton felt the sun shaped scar burn on his wrist.

Jemma hadn't looked back once.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! ^^


	8. Burn

**_ Burn: (Verb) 1 _ ** _. (of a fire) flame or glow while consuming a material such as coal or wood. 2. be or cause to be destroyed by fire._

\--------

Ashton's sun shaped mark continued to burn as Jemma grew closer to Luke. He hoped this was a sign that his powers were ready to co-operate.

Jemma had seemingly forgotten about him; she was too focused on Luke. Too focused on his spark and whatever grand scheme she had as a result of obtaining it.

Ashton took a deep breath, just as Calum, Luke and Michael had taught him to do a billion times. He felt a faint warmth in his palms and decided that it was enough.

His knees were wobbling as he rose from the ground, a sharp pain shooting through his leg and shoulder. He begged for his hands to fill with light as he attempted to draw on his powers. He raised his palm out towards her.

"Get away from him." 

Yet the flame never grew. It was nothing near close enough to the show of power he'd been hoping for. He realised with a sinking stomach he'd made a dreadful mistake. He felt like such an idiot.

Alerted by his voice, Jemma slowly turned to him. Her mouth forming a small ‘oh’ before she pursed her lips. She hesitated, her hand moving slightly away from Luke. His head didn’t move. It seemed he was barely conscious let alone capable of reacting to her shift in presence.

For a moment Ashton wondered if at the very least if he could delay Jemma long enough that the two of them could get the upper hand. As Jemma's gaze settled on him, he realised that right now it was the only plan that he had.

"Still powerless I see?" Jemma smirked looking up and down, any kindness she'd ever showed to Ashton these past few days was long gone. "You know I've wondered this whole time whether you even truly have a spark, Ashton. I wasn't lying when I told you that." She grinned like a Cheshire cat, her eyes on Ashton's outstretched palms, that were devoid of any sort of magic. "You're smart, I'll give you that. Pity you're hopeless at magic, you can't even use your powers."

He stared at her, trying hard not to react. He realised with a twisting stomach that she’d been trying to convince him to leave.

No matter how faint, it had almost cost him his spark.

It was quite possible that had been Jemma’s plan all along. To make him doubt him to much that he’d leave. Then the Reapers could take his spark while he was unguarded.

He’d fallen for it completely; this afternoon had been proof of that.

Yet this time he wasn’t falling for it. He’d see the bright yellow light of his spark as the Reaper had tried to take it. He’d used magic that night he’d fought back against Calum and Michael. There had to be something he could do, no matter how small or weak that power might be.

"Ashton, get yourself out of here." A haggard voice spoke. Ashton turned to see Luke's eyes were opening and closing as if struggling to stay open. "You have to warn Mike and Cal. Forget me."

Ashton stared at him for a moment. Despite Luke's words, he couldn't follow his wishes. He felt so conflicted. It didn’t feel worth it to warn the others when it meant leaving Luke here to die at the hands of the girl that he had once loved. Surely there was another option.

Yet at the same time it wasn't a secret that his abilities were weak, practically non-existent. He wasn't sure he could take someone like her on and live to tell the tale.

He wondered though if Luke had another plan. Michael and Calum couldn't be too far away. Perhaps if he could make it back to them, they'd all be back in time to save Luke.

"Yes, good idea Luke. Ashton why don't you run off to your other clueless friends?" Jemma smiled, seemingly amused by Luke's words, "It's not like any of them have any idea that Luke's also been deceiving all of you this entire time as well."

Ashton stiffened, confused by Jemma's deceitful words. He looked to Luke for assurance. Yet his eyes were wide, and he didn't move to argue with her. He simply gave a small weak nod to Ashton who was staring at him.

Ashton frowned, jumping quickly to an awful conclusion. Was Luke secretly working for the Reapers as well?

"You don't deny it do you?" Jemma smirked at Luke before her gaze shifted to Ashton, "Luke hasn't told you what really happened to the last Summer Guardian yet, has he?" Jemma's smile was full of venom. It was the kind of smile that made Ashton doubt everything he'd heard.

Slowly, Ashton's head turned to Luke for explanation, "Luke, what is she talking about?" He asked cautiously, terrified of the answer.

Luke raised his head slightly at the question, but he remained silent. Surprisingly, Jemma didn't seem to make a move as her eyes turned back to Luke.

"Yes, Luke. What am I talking about?" She prompted, though it seemed as though whatever this was about that she already knew the answer.

Luke's eyes were downcast as he let out a retched cough. He lifted his bloodshot eyes up to look at Ashton. He looked dreadful, like something out of a horror movie. Part of Ashton regretted asking him in this state, but the desire to know what this was about was too strong. Besides, it seemed as though it would stall Jemma for a while. If he only he knew how to get a message to the others, he had his phone but didn't have anyone else here's number. 

"Years ago, when it was just Jemma, Calum and I we found another Summer Guardian." Luke explained with a hint of regret in his eyes that paired with his gravelly exhausted voice.

Ashton let out a surprised squeak. They'd been making out this entire time that Ashton was the first Summer Guardian in an extremely long time. Yet it appeared that wasn't the truth after all. He wondered just what had happened to them and why Luke was so reluctant to talk about them. What reason would he have to lie about something like this?

"We were just dumb kids back then..." Luke trailed off as if lost in his memories, before continuing, "What she wants you to know is that a few weeks after we found him, we lost him to the Reapers."

The words hung in the air for a moment. Luke's protectiveness suddenly made sense.

"Naturally, Calum was distraught, to put it simply he wasn't coping very well. So, I had Jemma erase all his memories of him." Luke spoke darkly.

Ashton had no idea what to say to that. The thought of having memories erased and the toll the other Summer Guardians death had taken on Calum was terrifying.

"But you said there hadn't been one in centuries?" Ashton questioned, that was the thing that bothered him the most, how blatantly Luke had been covering it up.

"Yes, because before him there hadn't." Luke added quietly, "We thought that after his spark was taken and he was killed that we'd never see another one again in our lifetime because that's usually how the system works. Yet then you came along...I know I should've told you earlier but there's never been a good time. It's a lie I've stuck to since we were kids. Calum's never remembered and Michael doesn't even know."

Ashton had no idea what to say to that, all he could do was step back. The Guardians warnings about getting hurt suddenly seemed all too real. He thought of the scars that he'd seen littering Calum's forearms.

He could die.

In fact, he realised with a twisting stomach here was staring right down the face of death. Powerful or not he still had some sort of spark no matter how weak it was. Once she killed Luke; Ashton was certain that he would be next.

Before he could ask Luke more questions, a beam of light came shooting towards Ashton once more. Striking him right in the stomach. It sent a ripple of pain right through his entire body. He let out a sharp yell as he crouched over and clutched his stomach. Before he fell to the ground, collapsing onto his knees. He could hear Luke yelling, but it was useless.

As the pain subsided and he raised his head. He realised he had been forgotten. Jemma was already back leering over Luke with glowing hands.

"Shame, I'd spare you both Luke, but I can't really see you sympathising with the reapers." She smiled sickeningly down at Luke.

Ashton knew Luke was running out of time. He grunted and pulled himself up. He tried to ignore the aching in his bones and the sharp pain that felt like a knife shooting straight into his stomach. 

Jemma's head didn't even turn towards him as he rose once more. She was solely focused on Luke now. He eyes were glowing an eerie white as he palms illuminated in a matching colour. As she leaned closer and closer towards him, Luke inched away. He pushed himself up against a nearby tree. He was evidently cornered.

"Please Jemma, you don't have to do this. You know we're not the bad guys." Luke pleaded.

"You talk too much Luke." She retorted, as she struck her glowing hand directly on Luke's chest. He let out a yell, as a green light coursed between his chest and her hand. The veins in her arms lit up an eerie green. She wasn't waiting any longer, she'd jumped straight to taking his spark.

Ashton's mind was a flurry of thoughts. He didn't know who he trusted anymore. Luke had blatantly lied to him about the Summer Guardian. He was lying to one of his closest friends as well. So, what else could he be hiding under that rose-coloured façade?

Yet if he knew one thing, he knew that what Jemma was doing wasn't right.

Luke had put all his trust in her, it was obvious to anyone watching how much he loved her. He didn't trust Luke the way he once had, but he knew that he certainly couldn't trust the Reapers either. They barely knew each other but Luke had helped save him earlier that afternoon. Luke's head was lulled to the side, his eyes barely staying open. He didn't have long left.

He realised he couldn't just watch him die.

Ashton felt a burning in his wrist where the sun mark was, it glowed slightly as if it was burning from the inside. He could feel a strong pull in his stomach as if he'd gone around a few too many times on a carnival ride. Yet it was a welcome feeling as a warm feeling grew from his stomach around the rest of his body. He felt it spread through his chest, right through his arms and into his fingertips. Right down into his legs and toes. It seemed to heal the aching in his bones, as finally the heat reached his face. He looked up narrowing his eyes on Jemma who had turned completely away, solely focused on the green light coming from Luke's chest.

He felt a sharp spark of electricity in his fingertips as the flames ignited in his palms. He narrowed his eyebrows on her focusing all his energy into his palms. He'd practiced this a billion times without success. Instructions sprung to mind that Luke, Calum and Michael had given to him. They'd seemed useless at the time, but they pulled together in Ashton's brain in a way that he could never have imagined.

He let out a fierce yell as he let flames leave his fingertips and propel through the air towards her as dozens of fiery arrows spread before him.

Her head turned at the last moment, tiny sparks of fire landing in her hair. She let out a scream. Then the tree behind them caught alight. Gemma raised her palms sending out a wall of light at the last moment slowing any further embers from hitting her. She pulled away from Luke allowing him to slump to the side at her knees. A tiny green spark went shooting back towards him.

Jemma placed her hands near the burning strands of hair, containing it with her own powers. Her eyes shot to Ashton, she smirked as her hair and the leaves behind her smouldered. Both were glowing with an eerie orange glow.

"Ah now the flames come out?" She teased. Barely noticing as Luke gained consciousness enough to witness the fiery scene. His tired eyes piqued in interest as the smoke rose around him.

Ashton clenched his fists, prepared to send out more flames as his anger grew. His hands were flickering with sparks of light, waiting for Ashton to use them. He raised his palms, sending them out shooting towards her. He intended to douse her in the flames this time so she couldn't control them as easily.

Though before the flames even reached her, her entire body glowed with white light and she disappeared. Her laugh disappearing with it. He frowned, had she teleported? He knew that was possible for himself and the other guardians did that mean she could pull it off too?

Regardless, she was gone. A cowardly move to disappear as she realised that Ashton did in fact have powers. Yet Ashton could help the wave of relief that came over him. He used his powers and had done something useful.

At the same time, he couldn't help but feel a little scared of himself. He'd felt so out of control in those few moments that he'd used his powers. As if he'd been acting on someone else's instinct. He could've quite easily seriously injured or harmed her if she hadn't left on her own. He looked at his hands that were still slightly warm and stared at them as if they were no longer part of him.

"You finally did it." Luke's voice spoke weakly.

Ashton silently tilted his head up towards Luke. Luke still looked weak and bleeding, but the colour was returning to his face. Ashton was still slightly stunned.

"Yeah, I guess I did." Ashton spoke quietly, though the words sounded hollow.

A silence fell over them for a moment as Luke regained his strength, and Ashton just stared at his hands.

"I'm really sorry for not telling you sooner about the last Summer Guardian." Luke spoke weakly, "I didn't want to scare you away."

Ashton glanced over at Luke, whose blue eyes were wide and regretful. Almost sympathetic. Ashton felt himself soften slightly, but he was still a little bit upset.

"I wish you'd told me sooner." Ashton replied, his voice was flat and annoyed.

"I know, I should've. I'm sorry." Luke spoke.

Ashton didn't say anything to that. He had no idea as to how to respond to someone who was only saying things because they realised, they'd made a mistake.

"Regardless, you did well today. Jemma had completely written you off as being a threat." Luke spoke his tone more hesitant than usual, "Heck, you saved my life, Ash."

Ashton's gaze flickered to him. He was covered in blood, and muck. Ashton imagined that he was as well after his tumble through the dirt and mud.

"You did the right thing, Ash." He continued, "She was right about something. In our world the good guys aren't always good." Luke sighed, "Believe it or not Jemma's not the first person to betray us..."

Luke didn't elaborate those words any further. While Ashton didn't speak or dare ask what he meant by that. It was clear by this point that the Guardians were full of secrets and betrayals.

Luke let out a long sigh, "Ashton. Are you angry at me?"

Part of Ashton wanted to snap that of course he was. He'd chosen to attack Jemma as the worse of two possible evils. Luke had lied to him and was keeping god knew how many other important secrets. Though at the same time, Ashton could see Luke's guilt. It was clear he wasn't proud of what had transpired. Right now, he was running low on options on who he could trust.

"Can we talk about it later?" Ashton chose to say instead.

He still wasn't quite sure how he felt. Though he also knew that there was likely a whole hoard of Reapers attacking the village. Luke was a Guardian. He was a Guardian. It was their job to protect them. He gestured up towards the frequent bursts in of bright light in the sky, "I think we might still have some work to do."

"Yeah, I think so too." Luke agreed, "I'll be a lot better in a few minutes, then we can go."

Ashton nodded, before he approached Luke's side ignoring his own pain. Although there were stains on his shirt and still a large gash on the side of his head, the places where Luke had been struck were already healing. Ashton was stunned, could Guardians heal quickly as well?

Ashton thought of how quickly his own pain had disappeared back at the supermarket. It was possible.

Luke didn’t seem to be looking at his own injuries though. His eyes were on Ashton’s shoulder. Luke frowned and ripped part of his own shirt and held it towards Ashton. Noticing his confusion, he gestured to his bleeding shoulder. Now that Luke pointed it out, it was stinging slightly. Ashton stared at the ripped bit of cloth hesitantly. Luke looked much worse than he was.

"That one looks particularly bad, you should take it." Luke spoke.

"What about your own head?" Ashton asked frowning at it.

Luke shook his head, offering the cloth towards him again. "I'll heal quickly. You take it."

Not in the mood to argue, Ashton took the bit of cloth and held it up against his shoulder. Wincing a little as it contacted with his injured skin. Luke smiled, looking a little relieved.

"You sure you don't want me to do the same?" Ashton asked, already prepared to rip a piece off his own shirt if Luke needed it.

Luke smiled, looking slightly amused, "Nah. The longer guardians use their powers the faster they heal. Provided I don't get hurt too repeatedly, I can heal a lot faster than you would."

"Right." Ashton nodded suddenly feeling a little dumb.

"Not that you'd know that or anything." Luke shrugged, looking a little embarrassed.

"It's okay." Ashton nodded, "I get it." He frowned, "Can you walk?"

Luke nodded slowly, as he pulled himself up, "Mm, I think so. Just give me a minute."

They sat in silence as Ashton allowed Luke a few minutes to recover. Pretty soon Luke gently pulled himself up to his feet. Ashton hovered hesitantly ready to catch him if he fell. He was a little concerned that Luke wouldn’t be able to make it back either.

"I'll be fine." Luke assured him. He looked at Ashton hesitantly, “Are you sure you’re ready for this, we can go back to the old house if you want?”

Ashton hesitated for a moment, he could make things so easy by going back to the house and hiding. Yet that felt like a cowardly move and besides Jemma had already found them there.

Whether he liked it or not, he was a Guardian now. That meant that it was his responsibility to help protect the village when it was in trouble.

He shook his head, “There’s no way I’m backing out now. I’m a guardian too, remember?”

Luke smiled softly, a hint of relief in his expression, “That’s what I like to hear.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! ^^


	9. Invade

** Invade ** **_:_ ** _(Verb) 1. enter (a place, situation, or sphere of activity) in large numbers, especially with intrusive effect._

_\----_

Slowly regaining their strength, Luke and Ashton limped their way towards the village square. Both were a little weak and tired, worn down from their encounter with Jemma.

It soon became apparent that Luke hadn't been joking about heling fast. It was hard to believe that only fifteen minutes ago, he'd been barely keeping consciousness. The colour had returned to his face, his forehead just had a clean red line and his stride was almost back to normal. Ashton hoped that meant that Luke had enough energy to spare on using his abilities too.

Neither one spoke much as they jogged their way through the trees. Both were reluctant to talk about what had happened to the previous Summer Guardian or what might happen once they made it to the others. Luke had a text on his phone from Michael and figured that they'd be at the village square by now.

After learning of the truth about the Summer Guardian before him, Ashton didn't trust Luke as much as he originally had. He couldn’t help but wonder what other secrets, he was keeping from him. Yet he knew he could hold enough trust in Luke to fight the Reapers and give him a proper chance to explain himself.

By the time they reached the village, it was clear it was in chaos. Every window, blind and doorway was shuttered. Things in the streets were on fire and objects were strewn over the cobbled ground. There were people everywhere. Some wore silver, while other were dressed in black cloaks making it easy to distinguish who was on what side. The air smelled of smoke and bright lights of various colours were being flung all over the place as people defended the village from the invaders.

Ashton was horrified. He'd only been here a few days ago with Calum and it had seemed to so calm and peaceful. Yet now it had descended into unrecognisable chaos.

As Luke had anticipated they soon found Calum and Michael in the centre of the group. With them was at least a dozen of the protectors, distinguished by their fancy silver outfits and tiny golden pins on their uniforms.

Autumn leaves were swirling in front of Calum like a tornado whilst Michael taunted a nearby Reaper with long and pointed icicles that he threw at them like missiles. It was like watching a Saturday morning cartoon come to life.

Ashton hesitated for a moment, pulling his feet away from the square. Luke noticing this, hung back with him. He wondered whether he was seriously thinking of going out there and joining the fight? Sure, he'd saved Luke back there with his own powers. Yet it had come on seeming instinct, he'd been so scared that something was going to happen to him or Luke that he'd just acted. He doubted he could do anything even half as good again. He couldn't help but fear that he'd just gotten lucky like the other night.

"You're going to be able to do it." Luke spoke kindly, noticing Ashton's hesitation, "I finally saw what you're able to do. Just relax and take your time."

Ashton was still nervous. Whenever someone said to just relax it instantly made him more nervous.

"We'll have your back." Luke added, "If your powers fail, at least then you'll have back up."

Ashton was petrified and didn't like the tone of Luke's words. Yet he knew Luke was right, the rest of the Guardians and even the protectors would have Ashton's back if things went wrong.

With Ashton's approval Luke ran towards the centre of the village square where the battle raged on. He didn't look back to make sure that Ashton was following. With his heart thumping, Ashton bolted after him.

The two of them clambered down the stone steps and into the middle of the fight. Sensing their arrival, the nearby Reapers turned to them and started gesturing wildly towards them. The dark cloaked figures were soon illuminated by the powers that surged from their hands.

Ashton sucked in a deep breath, he had to do this. He didn't want to keep letting himself or the others down anymore. Silently, he slowed letting Luke run ahead. He sucked in a deep breath his eyes flickering between the two sets of Reapers that were focusing on him now like he was a piece of meat.

He spread his arms out and called on his powers, urging them to reveal themselves. For a moment he felt nothing.

Then a moment later his hands grew in warmth, a faint yellow and orange glow coming to them. They suddenly seemed to ignite; he wiggled his fingers watching as the flames danced on them. The movement felt so natural to him, like he'd been able to do this all along.

Though he knew he had no time to admire them as he caught in his peripheral vision, a bright red light tinged with a dark inky one.

He quickly raised his palm in the direction of the light, pushing it forwards like Calum had been teaching him. The flames leapt from his fingertips, meeting half-way with the Reapers shadowy beam. The two powers collided and seemed to burn one another out. A look of annoyance crossed the barely visible mouth of the Reaper who had sent it out in the first place. Yet they weren't done, suddenly there were hundreds of similar inky coloured beams of light shooting towards him.

With a jolt of fear, Ashton quickly raised both his hands in front of him. Suddenly, flames rose completely around him, creating a fiery wall. The heat from the flames was intense, but it didn't bother Ashton much. The Reapers powers collided with the flames and seemed to merge into it.

Seeing his chance, Ashton gritted his teeth and spun in each direction shooting fireballs made from the surrounding flames at them. Still protected by his shields, he heard the yells of the Reapers as the flames hit them, igniting their robes. Like Jemma had; they seemed to teleport away before Ashton could work out what had happened to them.

He waited for a moment, watching through the flames, but no one seemed to be paying attention to him anymore. He could see Luke, encasing Reapers in plant prisons and Michael turning people into human popsicles. Or were they Reaper popsicles?

He allowed his shield of flames to drop by lowering his arms, they simmered slightly in a ring around his feet as he let the flames disappear into the ground.

It wasn't the time to celebrate though as he saw one of the Reapers shoot a burst of power at Calum from behind. Calum let out a yell, falling to the ground. A Reaper in front of him was approaching as well, their hands, filling with light. Ashton dashed forwards, shooting a fireball towards both attackers. The flames hit them both, igniting their robes into flames. The Reapers let out a yell, before teleporting like the others. It seemed reapers couldn't handle the heat.

Calum rubbed his back and glanced upwards looking behind and in front of him, stunned. Then he grinned, his eyes meeting with Ashton's.

"When did you get so good?" Calum smiled up at him, as Ashton helped him from the ground.

"Long story." Ashton replied, knowing that was the truth and they would need to discuss the matter later. It was then that a beam of power went striking right between their heads. The two of them exchanged looks, before standing up straight, their eyes scanning around them.

A stream of leaves rose from the ground at Calum's command, his eyes flickered to Ashton for a moment. Ashton raised his palms, wondering if he could pull it off this time. He focused on the leaves, urging them to catch alight.

A moment later and they ignited, exactly how he'd wanted them to in practice. He wanted to scream in celebration, but he knew it wasn't the time or the place.

Calum grinned, sending them shooting out at any of the nearby Reapers. The moment they hit them, they caught alight and would teleport away much like the others. He supposed that they hadn't factored in his powers like the others. Ice, vines, and autumn leaves were okay because they were prepared for them. It seemed fire was not. The Reapers seemed to be taking notice of Ashton's presence as Calum and him worked together to set fire to as many of the Reaper's cloaks as possible to frighten them away. There were several mutters of them not expecting this and calls to retreat. Their voices startlingly human.

Pretty soon, all of them had teleported away. Their appeared to be no Reapers left in the village. There were just the four of them and the people dressed in silver. A rather official looking person with a shining sapphire shaped pin on his chest declared to the gathered crowd that the Reapers were gone. Cheers erupted among the group. While Ashton's shoulders sunk back in relief.

A full-scale party seemed to erupt within the streets, people began poking their heads out of windows, cheering, and showing their support. Loud music began to erupt from rooms. The people dressed in silver were congratulating one another and the Guardians especially. Ashton stared around them in awe, stunned at the recognition they were getting.

He looked around at them in the streets, noticing how the one's dressed in silver had their eyes turned to him. They were looking at him strangely as if he were famous. Hesitantly he looked to Calum.

"Why are those people staring at me?" He asked quietly.

Calum looked confused for a moment, but his eyes followed Ashton's. "They saw what you did, I guess? You're unusual. They're probably wondering who you are."

Ashton thought back to the conversation he'd had with Calum about the Guardians being viewed a bit like royalty. If they suspected he was a guardian, then no wonder they were gawking at him.

All the people dressed in Silver were protectors. They were already nodding to Ashton in a tone of familiarity. The ones nearby began propelling questions at him. Ashton jolted slightly nervous from all the sudden questioning; Calum was right. They wanted to know who he was and what he could do. It was about then, that Michael and Luke showed up. Luke shot a slightly frustrated glance at the protectors before he quickly steered Ashton and the others away from them.

"They don't need to know exactly who you are yet." Luke whispered under his breath, just loud enough for Ashton to hear. Michael spilled out apologies to the Protectors and the people on the street, as both Calum and he followed behind. Thankfully, none of the Protectors or people followed.

No one spoke as they kept walking. Luke seemed to know where he was taking them as he led the way. Soon they came to an area of the grounds that Ashton hadn't been to before. There were perfectly manicured hedges, much like the one near the entrance gate. However, there were an increasing number of multicoloured roses sprouting from within them as they passed. Many were closed for the day, but Ashton soon deduced that this was Luke's famous rose garden. He noted the way that Calum and Michael both stuck to the dead centre of the path. They were cautious not to go anywhere near the sides, as if they were both scared to touch them. He remembered Calum's story about Luke keeping him away from his rose garden in case he wrecked it with his powers.

Perhaps that hadn’t been a joke.

It looked and felt like they were walking through a maze, there was no clear direction, but Luke seemed to move through it with ease.

That was until a white rotunda like structure came into view. It had a high peaked rooftop whilst roses and other vines snaked up the pillars. The area was illuminated with dozens of small spotlights. Luke lead the way up the small set of stairs to a seating area on the outer rim. Much like the room, there was an ample number of pillows for everyone. Luke requested gently that they sit. Ashton took a place beside Calum. Though he noticed as they sat that Luke remained standing, he raised his arms and muttered some words under his breath.

Michael looked at Luke in confusion, "A cone of silence, out here? What did we need to come all the way out here to talk about?"

"We have a _lot_ to talk about." Luke emphasized, taking a seat beside Michael.

"Like how the heck the Reapers made it in here?" Michael asked, sitting up straighter.

"Exactly." Luke nodded, as he bit down on his lower lip. Ashton knew it wasn't the only important thing that the four of them would need to discuss tonight.

"So, are they gone now?" Ashton questioned, wondering about the way the Reapers simply teleported away in fear. "As soon as my flames touched them, they teleported away."

"Oh no, they'll be back." Michael frowned, "Though this time I'm not sure how they got in."

Luke and Ashton both exchanged knowing glances but didn't say a word. They both had a strong theory of how the Reapers had made it in. Both knew it had to have involved Jemma and her twisted way to steal Luke's spark. They could only assume that with Jemma's inside help, they'd managed to find a way to fool the barriers and the guards to get inside. Neither one mentioned that yet though, discussing Jemma and her betrayal was a whole another discussion.

"In any case, when did you get so good with your powers, Ashton?" Michael smiled, turning to him, "It looks as though you've been holding out on us."

"I guess so." Ashton nodded, silently wondering how he was suddenly so much better than he had been. Maybe he was more relaxed about them now? He shook his head, it seemed like much more than that. His abilities had come much more naturally then they had before. He was sure in the coming days he'd have plenty of time to test that.

"Wait I know." Michael grinned mischievously, his eyes turning to Luke, "While you two were away you gave Ashton extra training?"

"I wish." Luke spoke in a quiet solemn voice. All the enthusiasm and calmness had drained from him. "A lot happened while we were gone."

Michael and Calum exchanged confused glances as Luke began telling them what had happened with Jemma while they'd been away. He didn't leave out any of the details. He explained how she'd lead them astray with the offer of safety. Then attacked them. How she'd tried to take Luke's spark, once she'd affirmed her betrayal. Finishing with Ashton's sudden show of powers that had saved them both. He also explained that Jemma had teleported away, most likely defecting to the Reapers.

"In short, Ashton saved my life tonight." Luke continued, "And I guess Jemma wasn't really who we all thought she was."

By the end of Luke's tale, Michael and Calum were staring opening mouthed, neither spoke nor moved. Michael looked incredibly guilty and regretful.

"Luke...I'm so sorry." Michael frowned; Calum nodded sharing a similar sympathetic look.

Luke just shook his head, "I should've known, I should've seen the signs. I mean I was closer to her than anyone."

Calum sucked in a long sigh, "You can't beat yourself up over it, Luke." Calum frowned, his expression full of worry, "None of us ever guessed she would pull something like this."

Michael nodded; his hands clasped together in fists.

Luke sucked in a deep breath, "I appreciate your sympathy, but guys there's something else I have to bring up...I did something awful and you guys should know about it." Luke's eyes flickered hesitantly to Ashton for a moment. Ashton gave a small nod, knowing what Luke was about to reveal.

"There was another Summer Guardian...not that long ago." Luke began.

Michael and Calum's eyes both widened in surprise. From there Luke began to tell the story of Charlie, the original Summer Guardian. Ashton listened intently, although Luke's words made it feel like a kick in the stomach. He couldn't help but wonder if this would be them talking about him in a few years or even a month's time. He knew he'd faced death tonight, and he knew it wouldn't be the last. Especially when it sounded like there wasn't a good job history in being the Summer Guardian.

Luke explained how Charlie had been from the village as well. Upon hearing of the Autumn and Spring guardians being found, Charlie's parents had brought him forward. He trained with Calum and Luke for a few weeks. Yet his moods and powers had been awfully unstable. Regardless, they had quickly become good friends. Those few weeks passed and soon the council sent them out on their first mission a group, as up to that point it had just been Luke and Calum. It was supposed to be a simple case of a Reaper draining energy from humans to strengthen their powers. Yet it had been a trap, Charlie had his spark taken and there had been nothing Luke or Calum had been able to do as they had escaped.

By the time Luke was finished, Calum's fists were clenched and his eyes on Luke were suspicious. When Luke had seemingly finished, he glared at Luke as he asked, "If I was there for all this. Then why can't I remember him?"

Luke paled slightly as he turned to face Calum directly. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. As he did so, Calum's gaze on him only intensified. He looked to Calum, "Because I had Jemma erase all your memories of him."

"You did what?" Calum snapped with an icy glare. Even Michael tensed, shooting daggers at Luke with his eyes. As if he couldn't believe that Luke had just admitted to that.

"I had to have her erase your memories, Cal. You would've hurt someone, maybe even yourself. You were constantly miserable, and your powers were out of control." Luke spoke quietly. Though to Ashton it sounded as though Luke was trying to convince himself as well.

"Did you ever think to ask me, whether I wanted that?" Calum spoke with crossed arms and his anger rising.

"Well, no." Luke replied flatly, he looked to Calum pleadingly, "I didn't have a choice. I couldn't lose you too."

Calum didn't seem to have heard the last part though, he stood up with his eyes now narrowed, and yelled, "Another Guardian died, and you didn't ask me whether I wanted my memories taken away? You simply expect me to be okay with that? What else have you lied to us about Luke?"

Luke flinched at each of Calum's words. Ashton frowned noticing the scuttling of leaves as a few stray ones on the ground, crinkled and changed colour from green to orange and brown. Michael was watching them too, a nervous look on his face. Ashton and he exchanged glances as the leaves began to rise into the air. Matched with Calum's deadly gaze.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! ^^


	10. Real

**_Real:_ ** _(Adjective) 1. existing as a thing or occurring in fact; not imagined or supposed. 2. (of a thing) not imitation or artificial; genuine._

\-------

The steam was practically coming from Calum's ears as the leaves nearby crinkled and shifted to orange. They floated mid-air around Calum like charmed snakes pausing to strike.

Ashton realised; Calum probably didn't even know that he was doing it. His anger and gaze were solely on Luke as he started to call him every horrible name under the sun. Luke just sat there blankly and took it. Ashton shrunk away from them. He was slightly afraid of what Calum's next move might be. He wondered silently if leaving might be a better alternative. 

Yet a moment later and Michael stood up, his gaze on Calum was scathing.

"Cal, enough. Let Luke finish." He demanded, as he as he raised his hands. They glowed with a bluish white light. Ashton noticed how icicles began to grow on the floating leaves. Too heavy, the leaves dived towards the ground. They shifted slightly as if trying to rise again. Yet Michael simply directed his hands towards them and drowned them in more ice. 

Calum relaxed slightly at Michael's words, but he remained standing. Luke bit his lip, glancing up at Calum and realising that he'd been given the floor. 

"Fair enough, I get it.” Luke frowned at him, he looked slightly defeated. “You have every right to be mad at me. Though you have to remember we were only eleven years old... it was the only thing Jemma and I could think of at the time." Luke spoke, quietly but sympathetically, "Look I'll even restore your memories myself if you want me too." 

Calum relaxed slightly but gave Luke a questioning glance, "You'd do that?"

Luke nodded.

The two of them held one another’s gazes for a moment. Then Calum slowly sat back down beside Ashton, looking a little like a deflated balloon. It was clear from his clenched fists that he was still upset. Yet judging by the lack of floating leaves, he’d calmed down considerably.

"Wait. What does this mean for Ashton then?" Michael frowned, "He is still the real summer guardian, right?"

Ashton blinked, a little thrown off by Michael's question. He hadn't honestly thought of it that way. He was a little nervous that after all of this he wasn't a real guardian. Part of him hoped that tonight and the other night weren't just a brief show of borrowed power. 

He need not have worried though, Luke nodded to Michael's question without a moment of hesitation, “Of course he is, his powers just showed up a little later is all."

Ashton somehow felt a little better at Luke's defence of his Guardian status. He felt a little guilty for arguing with him for lying about the previous summer guardian.

"Then what about Charlie? Wasn't he a real Summer Guardian before then?" Calum asked, sounding calmer than he had before, "I thought there was only one of us at a time and Ashton's not a little kid, so it doesn't make sense."

Luke bit his lip, pondering Calum's reasoning for a moment. Ashton frowned, worried that the answer wouldn't fall in his favour. 

"True." Luke agreed, but it was clear he wasn't done. "Though I thought about it, if Charlie were still with us, he'd be about the same age as Ashton and the rest of us, right? It's possible that there's like potential Guardians too. Maybe their powers don't show up unless something happens to the current one." Noticing the other guys confused faces, Luke added, "Well at least that's my theory on it." 

Michael nodded, "Sounds fair to me. It would make sense that there could be back up Guardians in case something happened to one of us." 

"So, I'm basically a replacement then?" Ashton questioned, feeling a little uncertain if he liked being considered that. His heart sunk a little. 

Luke frowned, looking a little sorry for Ashton. Still he nodded, "While it is entirely possible. I mean at the end of the day we're all replacements for someone else down the line, as others will eventually replace us. Ashton your no less of a Guardian than any of us. You proved that tonight." 

Both Michael and Calum made similar nods of agreement. Ashton hated feeling like he was living in someone else's shadow. Yet, he couldn't help but feel that Luke was right. Replacement Guardian or not, he was just as much of a Guardian as any of them. He thought of the way that people had been staring at him out in the village. The people here believed in the Guardians here so deeply. 

"I'm ready." Ashton spoke. The three of them exchanged confused looks. Ashton elaborated, "I'm ready to become an official guardian. I'm ready for the party and everything else you expect of me."

Calum, Michael, and Luke's eyes widened, they stared at him in disbelief.

"Are you sure? You must be upset with me after everything that happened..." Luke spoke. 

"I still am." Ashton nodded, it would take a few days to get over Luke hiding that there was another Summer Guardian. "But I realised today fighting alongside you guys that I want to be part of this. Even if it's hard, even if sometimes my powers don't work."

"Well I'm not arguing. You saved Luke's life." Michael nodded, "If Jemma took both your sparks, I don't know what would've happened to us."

Calum nodded as well, "Me either. So, I'm not opposed." 

Luke nodded, with a smile, "I think the answer is pretty clear then, we all think you're ready."

Ashton was so relieved that the other guys had agreed. He was still a little nervous about what it meant, but he meant what he had said about this past night changing everything for him. 

"I guess we have a lot to organise now then." Michael nodded. 

"We have to formally tell the village, though I think a few people already worked it out after they saw you tonight." Luke spoke, "There's the parade and the party."

"It's okay. The people will be so frightened after the attacks, it'll give everyone something positive to focus on." Michael added. "Including us."

"True.” Luke nodded, “Though, besides that we still need to find out who or what's behind the disappearances. We need to know whether it's the Reapers or otherwise. Then now we’ll have to strengthen the shields around the village. Plus, we'll also need to instate a new protector." Luke sighed. "Man, this is going to take some work."

****

The next morning, the town was just waking up from its slumber. As the four of them walked through the streets. Clear evidence of the events of the night before still lingered. Stalls were overturned, carts and cars set on fire. The few people that were out gave them curious glances. It was unusual to see the three Guardians out so early and with a relative stranger.

They came to a stage near the village square. Ashton soon realised it was right where they had been fighting just the night before. It wasn't very ceremonious, just a few white pillars and a flat roof covering it. A single stone lectern was stood to the side. The four of them were just reaching it, when they noticed that a few people had followed them down the street. They were already gathering in front of the stage. Luke had suggested that this might happen, and it appeared he was right. 

With a crowd building, them four of them worked to prepare the stage so it would be ready for their announcement. Ashton worked with Luke to set up the microphone. By the time they were finished setting up, the whole village square was crowded with people.

Ashton felt a strong wave of butterflies knowing he'd soon be introduced to them. He knew it shouldn't scare him, but he couldn't help but be slightly terrified. He had visions of things being thrown at him or angry villagers. Though Luke had assured him that barely anyone knew about the other Summer Guardian and it wouldn't cause any problems. He didn't intend to inform the crowd about it today. 

As Ashton looked out into the crowd, he spotted people of numerous ages. He could see what looked to be a film crew near the back of the square. This was a big deal, the kind of thing that overtook whole news bulletins he was sure. At a certain point, Luke went up to the microphone first. He sounded a little nervous as he tapped on the microphone both to test it and to get their audiences attention. Calum, Michael, and Ashton stood near the back of the stage. Ashton was trembling with nerves as Luke greeted the gathered crowd. 

They seemed excited to see him, erupting into joyous cheers.

"I know last night was a difficult one for many, the village was invaded by Reapers for the first time in decades. I want to thank everyone for their vigilance and support. Thankfully, there were few casualties and injuries. I pay my respects to those who fought valiantly for us last night and were unable to come home to their families."

As he listened Ashton was impressed with the tone that Luke spoke in. He seemed like a proper leader. Though he remembered Calum and him and been in this situation since they were little. 

"There are also extra guard patrols to ensure the barriers that protect us from the outside are stable and not being breached." Luke continued, "Unfortunately last night was also a difficult night for us Guardians as well. Many of you would know Jemma, our main protector. We regret to inform you that last night she betrayed us. She attempted to remove my spark and swore allegiance to the Reapers."

There were horrified gasps among the crowd. 

"To that end, Jemma is no longer a friend or ally of the Guardians or Council. If approached by her, you are to assume the worst and take necessary action." Luke continued. 

There was several murmurs and nods amongst the audience who seemed to take Luke's request seriously. 

"The Reapers continue to be a great threat to all of us. I ask on behalf of us and all the council that every single one of you takes care of yourselves and your families. I know the Protectors, Council and Guardians including myself will be working hard to ensure everyone's safety."

The crowd began to clap and cheer at this. 

"That brings me to my next reason for talking with you all today." Luke continued, "As I mentioned earlier, last night my spark was almost taken from me.” People in the crowd started to become unsettled again, exchanging worried glances and murmurs.

“I was incredibly fortunate to have someone with me that helped tipped the scales back in our favour.” Luke spoke, “He protected me, both while my life was in danger, and back here in the village where the lives of so many others were in danger as well. I'm aware that many of you already caught glimpses of him in action last night. Well today I'm here to finally introduce you all to him." 

A hush fell over the crowd, he noticed the way that the people at the front were pushing each other slightly, jousting for position. Everyone wanted to see the person that Luke was talking about in such high esteem. Luke turned around and ushered for Ashton to come forward. Ashton hesitated for a moment but walked forwards when he felt a slight nudge from behind. 

"This is Ashton everyone." Luke spoke, "He is the new Summer Guardian." 

A mixture of emotion came over the crowd as Ashton stepped forward to the front of the stage. There were yells of shock, while others just stared and then there were those who were clapping and cheering. Though suddenly even the doubtful seemed to join the other cheers. Ashton's shoulders relaxed; he'd been slightly worried that people wouldn't be glad to see him. Yet it appeared he had nothing to worry about. 

He gave the crowd a tentative smile and wave.

Luke sidestepped gesturing for Ashton to take the microphone. Ashton was still a little disorientated as he took the spot at the lectern. He noticed that Luke didn't move too far from him. 

"Hi." Ashton spoke as he looked out at the crowd. He'd been running through what he needed to say with Luke since last night and all through this morning. "As Luke said, I'm the new Summer Guardian. I hope that I can be the best Summer Guardian for you, guys." He ran through a few things like talking about how he looked forward with working with the others. Just like that it was over, and Luke took back over the microphone and wrapped the whole thing up informing them of the upcoming Summer festival. People immediately went back to milling about their day, though it seemed the mood in the entire village was much more joyous than it had been earlier in the meeting. Ashton could already hear people making plans of what they were going to wear and what they would bake.

With the town meeting over, the four of them regrouped at the back of the stage. Ashton let out a sigh slumping down onto a large log. It was exhausting being the centre of attention like that, even if only for a moment.

“You did brilliant Ash.” Luke nodded, “We couldn’t have asked more from you.”

Ashton ran his hands back through his hair, his eyes meeting with Luke’s enthusiastic expression. It had been terrifying, but he supposed that he had done okay.

“I was so nervous, but at least it’s over now.” Ashton spoke.

“Luke’s right though Ash, if you can do that then facing the Reapers is easy." Michael grinned, "My first time up there I almost threw up."

Calum side eyed him, "Too much info, buddy.”

"Hey, I went up almost all on my own like Ashton did. You had Luke." Michael protested.

“To be honest you were looking pretty green that day.” Luke nodded; his expression lost in thought. “I thought you were going to pass out on stage beside me.”

Ashton realised that things could’ve been a lot worse today, but he’d survived the whole thing without fainting or being sick. He was grateful for that.

There was a loud cough and the four of them turned their heads to the noise. As a bright camera flash went off in front of them. As Ashton blinked the lights out of his eyes, he made out the shape of a woman. She had a messy bun who wore a tight business coat, she was probably in her thirties. She was with a man dressed in jeans and a t-shirt who was holding a digital SLR camera.

“The name’s Lola, I report on the local news around here. Mind if I ask some questions boys? Ashton isn’t it? Pleasure to meet you. Everyone’s buzzing about the new Summer Guardian. Everyone around here wants to know you.” She spoke quickly, as she barely took a breath. Before shooting rapid fire questions at the four of them.

Ashton just stared at the woman like a deer in headlights. He couldn’t believe that someone could talk so much in a small space of time. The other three Guardians were looking at her quite started as well.

Perhaps Reapers weren’t the only scary things in this new world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thanks so much for reading! <3


	11. Prepare

**_Prepare_ ** _: (verb) 1. make (something) ready for use or consideration. 2. make (someone) ready or able to do or deal with something._

_\--------_

The next few days were busy with preparations for Ashtons official guardian ceremony. Luke and Michael had both been running around getting things organised and attending important meetings. Whenever Ashton tried to offer his help, the two of them quickly shooed him away. He was grateful though, at least all the planning was keeping Luke's mind off Jemma.

In his spare time, Ashton had been trying to learn as much as possible about the Guardians and this society he'd walked into. Luke had found him a huge book with illustrated pictures to flick through. A lot of information about the village were about things he already knew, or they weren't any different to the outside world. Yet there was a lot of information on Reapers and Guardians. Reapers, he learned had the purpose of stealing energy from others and using it to fuel their own powers. Hence why, stealing Sparks was of such value to them. Sparks were a constant life force. They also thrived on chaos and destruction, hence the scenes of the other night, Guardians on the other hand take their powers from nature and the world around them, though for each it manifests differently into their seasonal powers.

There wasn't anything mentioned however about those like Ashton, where there had been another Summer Guardian previously and another had taken their place. It was strange. A part of Ashton still doubted all of this. He hadn't tried to use his powers since, a little frightened of using them again. Besides Luke and Michael had been too busy to encourage him to train his powers anyway.

Lola, the reporter had also thrown him off a little. There was so much still that he didn't know and things that he wasn't sure how to react to.

Calum however was a different story. He hadn't come out of his room in the past day or so. Luke had mentioned to Michael and Ashton yesterday that he'd given Calum his memories back. Luke had gone on to assure them that Calum was fine and just needed a few days to recover. Ashton couldn't help but be concerned that something was up. He didn't even come down for meals let alone to help with the preparations.

With nothing better to do that afternoon, Ashton decided that it might be a good idea to go and check on him. Yet Ashton pondered whether perhaps what Calum really needed right now was a friend. Michael and Luke were so busy now he couldn't help but feel like they were neglecting him a little.

Pulling himself up from the chair, Ashton walked to where he assumed Calum's room was. He hadn't been there yet as Calum usually came to him, not the other way around. He followed the corridor from his own room around a bend before coming to a row of doors like his own. The corridor here was dark though as if someone had forgotten to turn on the lights. Ashton shivered; it was a little eerie.

He found the doorway that he suspected was Calum's room; and knocked on it cautiously. For a moment nothing happened, though Ashton could've sworn that he heard a long sigh come from inside.

"Who's there?" A slightly strained voice asked.

"Calum? It's me, Ashton." Ashton spoke through the closed door, he sucked in deep breath before adding, "Can I come in?"

There was a pause for a moment, "Are you sure you want to come in?"

Ashton frowned; his concern deepened as he wondered what could be behind the closed door. Calum sounded like he was trying to frighten him away.

"Yes."

There was no response, except for a slight pause and then a click. The door opened slightly a moment later, letting a crack of light into the dark hallway. Ashton looked down to the floor noticing a suspicious autumn leaf beneath the doorway. There was no one standing there so the leaf must've opened it.

He stepped inside expecting the worst and he was right to. Objects were overturned, broken, and scattered all over the floor. A row of plants on the windowsill looked as if someone had drained all the life out of them. Ashton's heart lurched, as he started to realise why Luke had taken those memories from him in the first place. Ashton soon spotted Calum among the chaos lying on his bed, his face up to the ceiling. Calum sat up quickly looking surprised as Ashton entered.

He gave Ashton a sullen smile, "I didn't really expect you to come in you know." He spoke. "You didn't need to come and see me like this."

Ashton stared at Calum for a moment. He looked exhausted, his eyes tired and with bags under them. There was little left of the smiling guardian he had met when he had first arrived here.

"Well I did." Ashton spoke before adding lamely, "I hadn't seen you at my doorstep for a few days. I was getting worried."

Calum cracked a quick but genuine smile at that.

"Sorry about that. Funny how a few weeks of old memories can mess up your whole routine." Calum sighed looking away.

"Yeah." Ashton nodded, trying his best to be sympathetic, "How are you going?"

Calum simply let out a long sigh, he gestured around the room. "Look around you, what do you think?"

Ashton had already seen the state of the room when he entered. Regardless he gave the room another look. There were chairs overturned, papers everywhere, lights and glasses smashed. His heart sunk further. The only thing that hadn't been touched was the autumn leaf pattern on the ceiling much like his own. Other than that, the room looked like a war zone.

"I think about what happened too much and I lose control of my powers." Calum sighed, watching as Ashton surveyed his messed-up room, "It's like being ten years old again. The same thing used to happen to me then."

Ashton had no idea what to say for a moment, regressing back to doing something you thought you were over had to be terrifying. He could hear the pain in Calum's voice, it was clear that his state was bothering him a lot.

"I'm really sorry to hear that." Ashton spoke, unsure how else he could comfort him.

"You should probably leave." Calum sighed, "You might get hurt." When Ashton didn't move, he added, "Michael won't even come in here."

Ashton quickly shook his head; he didn't come to see him to just be turned away. It didn't matter to him that Michael refused to come in here, that was his choice. Calum looked strangely at Ashton surprised by the action.

"Well I guess if you're going to stay, you should at least have a seat." Calum spoke, as he raised his hands and a whole stream of brown and golden leaves cams streaming in through the open window. Ashton stared at them in surprise. They flew across the room to a chair that was already overturned. They moulded around it before flipping the entire thing over and turning it the right way. The leaves collapsed to the ground and Calum gestured for Ashton to sit.

Still a little bewildered, Ashton took the seat Calum had created for him. He was just beginning to sit when there was a loud crash and then a shattering noise. Ashton saw something fall as Calum let out a frustrated groan. Ashton followed his eyes, finding what looked to be a picture frame on the ground. There were a few leaves lying on the ground directly around it. Letting out another frustrated noise, Calum reached it over and grabbed it from the ground. He placed it back up on the bedside table, despite the large crack in the glass. Ashton realised it was a picture of Calum with a group of strangers. Ashton recognised Calum's mother who he'd met the other night among them. He could only assume the rest of the people in the in the picture were other members of his family.

"I thought I was doing better that time." Calum sighed looking disappointed as his eyes lingered on the crack in the glass of the picture frame.

"Hey it's okay." Ashton assured him, his gaze was sympathetic, "You're doing fine. Thank you for moving the chair for me..."

Calum looked up at Ashton once more, looking a little stunned. He let out a long sigh, his head resting against the pillow behind him. "It was lucky it was just the picture frame that time."

Ashton wasn't sure what to say to that. Calum had been trying to warn him all along. What else could he do with his powers? Ashton shifted slightly, his heart thumping in his chest. He wondered if he should leave. Though he had a slight feeling it would break Calum if he did so. It was tough to know what to do.

Suddenly there was a dragging, rustling noise. Ashton tilted his head up. Watching as the autumn leaves around him seemed to move towards Calum like a magnet before lifting into the air in front of him.

Calum frowned, his eyes on the leaves that were hovering in the air precariously around them. He looked a little spooked by them himself.

"I told you, you should leave." Calum spoke his eyes on them.

"I'm not leaving you." Ashton shook his head. "Maybe if we tried talking about what's bothering you?"

Calum shook his head at first, his tone dripping with sarcasm, "Like that would help."

Ashton hesitated for a moment, a wave of fear hitting him in the gut. Maybe he should leave now or get Luke or one of the others. Though he recognised something in Calum, that he had seen himself a long time ago. Ashton thought of those months when he'd sat out in his street corner outside his house, every night. He'd cursed every star. Every planet. Tears streaming down his face. He'd thought everything was his fault on those lonely nights. His parents yelling from inside the house.

It was only when people started approaching him, concerned for his welfare, and started talking to him that he had really began to find peace. He'd learned to love the stars rather than to curse at them.

"It won't help you to bottle up your feelings. That's the problem, isn't it?" Ashton spoke smoothly, "It'll only get worse and start eating you away inside. You can't keep pushing us all away."

Calum's eyes widened at Ashton at that. He didn't speak, but Ashton noticed the leaves around them lower. Ashton didn't take it for granted though. He just sat and waited until all the leaves were back on the ground. He looked at Calum expectantly, but still he didn't utter a word. He was sure Calum would speak when he was ready to.

"It was my fault Charlie had his spark taken, not Luke's. It should've been me who lost my Spark that day." Calum spoke quietly, he paused after that. Ashton nodded, urging him to continue.

"Charlie was talented, he could create firestorms and even thunder. I was honestly a little jealous of him. Once he showed up Luke always gave him all the attention." Calum sighed, "The council had sent us on our first mission about a month since Charlie had joined us. There was a group of Reapers operating within a shopping centre nearby. We found out which store and went there. Naturally, we weren't very sneaky back then, and the Reapers soon discovered our presence. I tripped and fell on my untied shoelace that Luke had been reminding me about all day. The Reapers gained on us, capturing me. They didn't notice I was gone until later, so they didn't stop. So, they ended up leaving me to them."

Ashton stared, part of him couldn't believe Luke would leave him like that. Calum wasn't finished though; the story hadn’t ended there.

"The Reapers naturally thought it was hilarious that they'd captured someone from the village. They talked so easily; about all the horrible things they would do to me. Then they saw my mark. They knew where we were from, but I don't think they'd realised we were Guardians up to that point. Their eyes lit up like they'd won the jackpot." Calum explained, "Then the talk about taking sparks began. They called another Reaper in to help. That was when Luke and Charlie showed up. I was a little weak, so Luke helped me out while Charlie fought off the remaining Reapers."

Ashton bit his lip, but something horrible had happened to Charlie. Hadn’t it? Why else would Calum be telling this tale.

"Charlie was busy fighting the last Reaper, or so we'd thought.” Calum sucked in a long breath, as if nervous about his next few words, “I watched that other Reaper leap from the shadows and take Charlie's spark. I just stood there powerless. My whole body was frozen in place. I watched him fall to the ground, as the two remaining Reapers disappeared with his Spark. All because I couldn't tie up my bloody shoelace, and I was too much of a coward to fight them myself."

Both were a silent for a moment. Ashton closed his eyes, unsure what he could say. It was clear Calum blamed himself for the events of that day.

"Calum you can't hold yourself to it. You were what eleven right?" Ashton spoke softly, still a little uncertain.

Calum nodded slowly. "True, but-"

Ashton was thinking of Luke, that night how powerless he had quickly become. "I know how hard it is, watching someone do that to one of your friends."

Calum's eyes widened in confusion, then his mouth formed a small oh shape.

"You almost saw it happen to Luke, didn't you?" Calum frowned in realization.

"Yeah, I did." Ashton nodded, "I felt so powerless watching her try to take it. If my powers hadn't started working, then and I'd failed. I'm sure I would've set fire to this whole place by now. Or worse..." Ashton trailed off slightly trying not to think about the other alternative, "What I'm trying to say is you have every right to feel what your feeling. But you can't hold yourself to the mistakes you made when you were eleven."

Calum nodded silently looking a little relieved.

"Back then I thought it was my fault for being weak." He spoke quietly, "That I could've done more somewhere along the line." He sighed, "But you're right I was only eleven. Besides how many eleven-year old's have the fate of countless others lives on their hands?"

"I don't know too many." Ashton nodded, "Luke and you had to grow up pretty, quickly didn't you?"

Calum bit his lip and nodded, "One day we were the new guardians. I would just play video games with Luke all the time because they just wanted us to get to know each other. Before we knew it, we were expected to be at all these ceremonies, join in on all these adult meetings and defend our people before we were even teenagers. Wow, I guess you are right."

Ashton was a little stunned at that. He'd been watching superhero cartoons on television at that age, but Luke and Calum had been living it.

"Thanks for listening, Ash. I'm feeling a lot better." Calum smiled warmly.

"Not a problem." Ashton smiled back, relieved to have been able to help.

Calum sighed pulling his knees up to his chest. "How are the preparations going for your Guardian Ceremony? I must say I've been a little out of it."

Ashton let out a long groan at that.

"That good huh?" Calum smiled, "It'll be worth it trust me."

"Michael and Luke have gone crazy with preparations, all these people I barely know have been asking my opinion on everything from food to decorations." Ashton explained, he sighed, "It's a little overwhelming."

Calum just looked amused at that, a smug look forming on his face, "Oh yeah. It's like that. Luke and I felt like we were being pestered about it every five minutes. At least we learnt where the best hiding places were."

"Can you share them with me?" Ashton asked, grinning at him.

Calum laughed, "Not a chance, Ash. you'll have to find them yourself."

"Damn."

"You're doing okay though, you're not thinking of running, again are you?" Calum asked, sitting up straighter.

Ashton shifted slightly, "Well..."

"You saw what happened last time you ran from us." Calum sighed, "We all need each other."

"I know but..."

Calum frowned, looking almost disappointed. "Well, maybe there is one hiding spot I could show you. Not that it's exactly hidden but I think you'll like it."

Ashton shot Calum a confused look, as he suddenly rose from the bed and appeared to leap into action. Ashton wasn't in a mood to argue as Calum led him out of the room, and right out of the entire complex.

After a short walk they came to giant stone like building that was covered in vines and leaves. There were intricate carvings between the gaps.

"What is this?" Ashton asked. Although relieved to see that Calum's mood had improved, he was confused by the Guardian's excitement.

"You'll see." Calum told him as he reached his hand up to a weird carved shape in the stone doorway. It seemed to light up at his touch. A moment later he pushed it open and it revealed a large airy room with a high ceiling. Dust motes flickered in the light that streamed through the sky lights in the ceiling above.

Ashton looked down at the floor before them noticing that there were hundreds of stone statues. They were all mostly human shaped. He noticed that each of them was individual, some were smaller, and others were larger. Many were dressed plainly while others were dressed rather ornately.

His eyes flickered to Calum in confusion. What was this place?

"Welcome to the hall of the Guardians." Calum grinned, as he noticed Ashton's stunned expression, "Statues of all the previous Guardians, are kept here. Well, except us of course." Calum added. "We're the only people allowed in here, so it's kind of special."

That explained the glowing light. Calum gestured for him to follow him as he began to walk the rows. Ashton stared around at them taking in their faces. There were distinguishable marks that suggested what season they had power over. It took him a few statues, but he finally found one he was sure was a fellow summer guardian. Calum smiled slightly as he drew forwards towards it. Ashton stared for a long moment, taking in the woman's features. She had big wide eyes and a huge smile. Her hair was long. She reminded Ashton of pictures of the gods particularly the sun god, Apollo, or Artemis of the hunt.

"Rumour has it, we can speak with them here." Calum explained, pulling Ashton's eyes away from the statue.

"Have you ever, uh spoken with them..." Ashton asked turning back to him.

Calum shook his head, "Never, but it is a good place to think."

Ashton could see what Calum meant, normally he'd find a room like this creepy. Yet strangely it was as if the place emitted a strange sort of comforting energy. It was a reminder that they weren't alone in all of this.

He began to walk the rows, taking in each statues' face. He sorted them in his mind, Autumn guardians, Winter guardians, Spring guardians and finally Summer guardians. He noticed they were all different, some looked gentle, others harsh and cruel. Some looked like they could've been blown over with a feather, others as solid as rocks. Ashton was sure he could spend hours studying them. Though he could feel Calum’s watchful gaze on him, and he suddenly felt self-conscious.

"Thanks for showing me this place." Ashton nodded. He silently knew he would return here at some point on his own.

"No problem." Calum spoke, with a warm smile before adding, "Think of it as a reward for cheering me up."

Ashton was stunned, he hadn't done all that much. Yet he knew he couldn't say that. Though perhaps he had, Calum wasn’t sending Autumn leaves flying around the room and he seemed much calmer.

Seeming to decide it was time for the both to leave, Calum started to turn and walk towards the doorway.

“Wait, uh…Cal…” Ashton spoke, anxiously taking a step after him.

Calum turned slowly, his eyes widening in surprise.

“With all this Guardian ceremony stuff, you uh…really cheered me up as well…” Ashton smiled at him, “So…uh thanks…”

Calum nodded gently, his gaze on Ashton was sympathetic, “You’re welcome.” He spoke before he added, “I guess we can both agree that next time one of us is upset that we come and see the other?”

“For sure.” Ashton nodded in agreement.

This time he really meant it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, this chapter took a while. Oops. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it! 
> 
> Hope everyone is staying safe, I hope to have the next chapter up soon! 


	12. Summer

**_ Summer _ ** _: (noun) the warmest season of the year, in the northern hemisphere from June to August and in the southern hemisphere from December to February._

\------

Soon the day came for Ashton's official Guardian Ceremony. For as far back as he could remember, he had never been so nervous for something in all his life.

From the moment he had woken up that morning, he had been fussed over. Hair had to be done and clothes had to be put on a certain way. Shoes needed to be shined and last-minute preparations had to be made. He was grateful that Calum had stuck with him for the entire morning or he wasn't sure how he would've survived all the craziness.

Even now as he looked down at his clothes, he felt slightly overwhelmed. They looked like they were from ancient times, they were rather old fashioned but classic. It looked like something that a prince would wear in a Disney movie.

He wore a white shirt with tiny golden buttons that also had a tiny golden sun embroidered on the chest. They matched with crisp white and expensive looking long pants that had gold swirling patterns along the ankles. His outfit was accentuated by a gold satin cape that hung from his shoulders. It was decorated with a golden sun and swirling patterns around the edges.

"Is this really necessary?" Ashton had complained to Calum, tugging on the outfit as he looked in the full-length mirror before them.

Calum simply smiled smugly, a knowing look in his eyes. Ashton shot him a frustrated look.

"If you want to participate today it is." Calum smirked, "But look don't worry, they only make us wear them on special occasions."

Ashton pulled yet another face at that. The material itched his skin, and it had a weird smell. It looked far too fancy for someone who usually wore jeans and t-shirt.

Calum turned back to Calum who was dressed in a similar, almost identical outfit. The only difference was that his cape was more of a bronze colour. Plus, instead of a sun, the insignia were replaced with a small orange leaf shape that matched his mark. He hadn't seen Luke or Michael yet this morning, but he only imagined that they wore something similar.

"You'll get used to it." Calum assured him. "These outfits aren't too bad."

Ashton let out a long sigh.

"In fact, you should see the pictures from our Guardian Ceremonies." Calum grinned, his eyes scanned the room, "They should be in here somewhere. We keep a lot of the records and things in this room. There's centuries worth of Guardians photos in here."

Ashton watched as Calum turned around to the large bookshelf on the other side of the room. True to his word there were dozens of books, some were battered and torn, while others looked as though they had simply faded with age. Calum's eyes rested on one of the newer looking ones, with a smooth black spine and gold trim. He carefully removed it from the shelf and brought it over to a nearby table. He ushered for Ashton to join him as he flicked through the pages. He paused when he came to a certain page, grinning.

"Look, here's Luke and I." Calum spoke, gesturing to the page.

Ashton looked down at the collection of pictures on the page. The stars of the page were two boys probably only about eight or nine at most. They were so little and young that it took Ashton a moment to see Luke and Calum in them. Though he noticed that they both wore similar outfits to the ones that they were both wearing today. They had puffier sleeves and puffier pants, but the capes were in the same style. There were solo pictures and three different ones of the two boys together.

"That's really cute." Ashton nodded, looking down at the two smiling Guardians.

Calum nodded, before hurriedly flicking through the pages, "Oh and here's Michael's ceremony." 

Sure enough, Michael wore a similar outfit, like the first two he had puffier sleeves and pants. It was clearly a few years later, Michael had to be about twelve or thirteen at most. Though he noticed that Michael was scowling in the one picture on his own. The remaining three pictures contained the other Guardians and Jemma. Michael was smiling proudly in those ones.

"Don't tell him that I showed you this, he hates that picture." Calum spoked with a wink.

"Don't show us what?" A voice asked as the door behind them squeaked open.

In a flurried panic, Calum quickly slammed the book closed. Both Ashton and Calum turned to see who had entered. Sure, enough it was Michael and Luke who were both dressed for the occasion. As Ashton had expected, their outfits were like Calum and Ashton's. The only differences were the flairs that distinguished their seasons. Michael's cape was light blue and decorated with delicate white snowflakes. While Luke's cape was a deep emerald green and decorated with vines and flowers.

Michael's eyes immediately fell on the book that Calum had just slammed shut. He let out a wounded groan.

"Oh god no, what have you got that old thing out for?" Michael stared, his eyes remaining on the book. "You didn't show Ashton, did you?"

Calum grinned, "What do you think?"

"Oh no, you didn't do you?" Michael asked horrified, he looked to Ashton, "Please tell me he didn't show you."

Ashton grinned playing dumb, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Michael groaned, "You showed him didn't you, Cal?"

"Maybe." Calum grinned back at him mischievously.

"I guess it's too late now then." Michael sighed. "Those pictures are the worst. My hair was awful, and I didn't want to smile in any of the photos except that one that Luke and you made me."

"Come on, they weren't that bad." Calum teased.

"I thought they were cute." Ashton added, earning him a relieved grin from Calum.

"I was not cute..." Michael began.

"Can I see? We haven't had those out in years." Luke asked cutting in before him, effectively moving the focus away from Michael.

Calum nodded and the three of them crowded around the book and fussed over the photos. Ashton stood over to the side at the window as the three of them started reminiscing about their own Guardian ceremonies. With his hand to the glass, Ashton's heart was thumping in his chest.

He had no idea how he was going to make it through all of this.

"In any case, we were sent up to get you guys." Luke spoke, turning away from the photos. His eyes were on Ashton. "The photographers here and wants us out in the courtyard for photographs before the parade."

A new wave of panic went through Ashton. Of course, they would have to get photos as well. He looked down at the outfit he was wearing. He was uncertain he wanted to have such important photos dressed like this. Would future Guardians look at him and laugh?

He had no choice though, as he followed behind the others down into the courtyard where a balding man with a camera was waiting. He grinned, muttering something about thinking he'd never see the day when all the Guardians were assembled and congratulating Ashton for discovering his powers. It was clear he was doing his best to put Ashton at ease.

From there the photographer seemed to force him into what seemed like thousands of photos. Several solo shots, and a whole another selection with the other Guardians as well. Ashton's cheeks hurt by the end of it all from all the smiling, but he silently knew he wasn't done for the day. This photo shoot was only the beginning.

With the photos out the way, Luke lead them to the outer ring of the building where a fancy plain white horse drawn carriage was waiting. It had an open top, and once again looked like something out of a Disney movie.

They climbed up onto the carriage, the car in front took off as the carriage began to wind through the streets until they came to the village. The nearer they got, the louder the crowds roars were. As the village came into view Ashton could see hundreds of people gathered on either side of the streets all the way around the corner. There were signs and balloons. There were tiny suns and streamers. Ashton's jaw dropped open; Calum hadn't been kidding about any of this.

"Wow." Luke gasped, looking ahead of them, "I think this is the most people I've ever seen at one of these. There was a lot at Michael's but nothing like this..."

Calum was nodding as well.

"I guess the whole village knows what you did for Luke." Michael smiled over at Ashton.

Ashton wondered whether Michael was right. It wasn't a secret that Luke had almost lost his spark that night in the battle against the Reapers.

The closer they got, the more Ashton had to smile and wave as the crowd seemed to fan out into an even larger area. On either side of them were little kids fighting for his attention, young kids on the shoulders of their parents, straining for views and waves. It was hard to believe that any of it was real.

He did his best to wave and smile to as many of them as possible, but he quickly realised that it was near impossible. He wondered whether this was what it was like to be famous.

Then he froze as he spotted two people amongst the crowd. Neither of them waved or smiled like those around them. They just glared icily at Ashton. They were a stark contrast to the joyful people around them. An older lady that was nearby shot them a confused look. Ashton suddenly felt incredibly nervous.

Were they Reapers? He wondered to himself, everyone seemed so excited except them. It was the only explanation he could come to.

"Oh no, that's his parents. I haven't seen them in years." Calum spoke. He looked incredibly spooked his eyes following Ashton.

"They were always angry at us for what happened to their son." Luke frowned, staring ahead.

From those words it immediately clicked who they were. They were Charlie, the original Summer Guardian's parents. Ashton suddenly understood their looks. They must hate seeing him, especially after what had happened.

He suddenly wanted to stop the entire parade, jump from the carriage, and leave this entire thing behind him. His hand stiffened on the edge of the carriage and his waving hand dropped. He could see the looks of confusion on the crowds faces, but they were just a blur to him now.

"Ash, it's okay. They won't do anything." Luke spoke, suddenly noticing that Ashton wasn't looking quite right. He nudged him in the side. "It's nothing to worry about, just keep smiling and waving. Don't let them know you've noticed them."

Ashton gave a small nod and did his best to follow Luke's advice. He raised his hand and waved out to the crowd, before plastering on the best and biggest smile he could muster. He couldn't let them think their appearance had bothered him. Lest they think that he was weak.

Ashton tried to focus on the rest of the parade, by just smiling and waving as Luke had suggested. Though no matter how hard he tried he couldn't shake the looks on Charlie's parent's faces. How must they feel to see him up here, getting all their son's glory?

They came to the main square which was crowded with people. Ashton could see the stage up ahead. It was more ornate today, much like the town it had dressed up for the occasion and was decorated with orange and yellow ribbon and symbols of the sun. The carriage soon came to an abrupt stop in front of the stage. The crowd around them cheered. Someone came and opened the door beside Luke, who stepped out first. He walked through a narrow section between a crowd of people, Calum and Michael followed him. So, Ashton brushed off his outfit and did the same. His cape whooshing up behind him in the slight breeze.

They climbed the stairs up to the stage, where a very official looking man was standing there waiting for him. He wore a royal blue outfit, a small gold badge rested on his chest. In his hand he held a brown leathered book.

"The head of the council." Michael whispered back to him; Ashton nodded as he internalised the information while he took the last few steps.

As Ashton stepped up to join them, the Head of The Council introduced them to the crowd. As each Guardian was introduced to the crowd they stepped forward to a roar of cheers.

When it was Ashton's turn, he mimicked the others, stepping forward and waving out to the assembled crowd. Who greeted him with an equally loud roar of delight? He stood there slightly breathless, taking in their faces. There were older people and younger people. It was just like the parade had been.

The Head of The Council called him over, and as he had been instructed, he walked over to him. He pulled up the sleeve on his arm, showing the man his Guardians mark. The man studied it for a moment as a formality. Then he nodded, asking Ashton to recite the Guardian's oath.

"I promise to do the best by our people." Ashton spoke, the words that Luke had been drilling into him for the past few weeks. "Make just decisions and protect them from harm." He took a deep breath before continuing as he tried to remember the words he'd been practicing with the others, all week. "I swear to use my abilities wisely and to work well with the other guardians."

With those words, the Head of The Council nodded, and Ashton breathed a sigh of relief as he allowed his shoulders to relax.

"Congratulations, Ashton." The Head of The Council Spoke, his piercing blue eyes meeting with Ashton's hazel ones. He smiled warmly, causing his eyebrows to crinkle, "I now declare thee the Guardian of Summer."

With those words, the crowd erupted into an avalanche of cheers. Ashton stood there for a moment, feeling slightly dizzy. Before deciding to wave and smile at them. That was it, he'd done it. He'd made the speech. He was a Guardian now.

The next few moments seemed to pass in a blur, he was presented with a small sun shaped pin. Before being passed a bouquet full of flowers. He accepted them gratefully before he followed the other four back off the stage and into a sea of waiting people. Ashton readied himself for the appearance of Lola once more. He spotted her among the crowd, her pen flurrying wildly across the page. Ashton ducked his head a little as he stuck with the others as they walked serenely through the crowd. None of them stopped for pictures as the cameras flashed around them.

They soon came to a quieter area, where the carriage that had brought them there was diligently waiting. However, two people emerged from out of the shadows nearby. He frowned recognising them as the two people who had been glaring at him during the parade. Both wore special passes now. It was Charlie's parents, they looked cross, cornering them before they could climb up into the safety of the carriage.

"Hello. How are you this fine evening?" Luke spoke as he stepped to the front of the group, his face was gentle and unafraid as his eyes met theirs. Ashton's eyes flickered briefly to Calum who was cowering slightly. Michael just looked concerned.

"We want you to tell everyone what happened to our son." The father spoke his eyes were piercing on Luke. He gestured towards Ashton. "And renounce this fake Summer Guardian's title."

Luke paled slightly as the group came to a grinding stop.

"Sir, in all due respect. Ashton here is just as much of a Summer Guardian as your son was." Calum spoke shuffling nervously in spot as he looked to Luke for confirmation. Luke nodded hesitantly.

"And you'll just cast him aside too when a new one comes along?" The woman questioned with a raised voice.

Ashton shrunk back, feeling slightly nervous as he left the others to defend him.

"Of course not." Michael spoke quickly, his eyes meeting with Ashton's as he gave him a reassuring glance.

"You will though. No one even knows what our son did, what he risked for you boys. What makes this boy any different?" The woman yelled continuing her tirade.

"What happened with your son was a terrible accident." Luke spoke his voice breaking through the woman’s, she paused staring at him open mouthed. Luke continued to speak calmly, "Look we'll make sure people know about him, but right now this is Ashton's day. Can you imagine what would happen if people found out the truth today? People are worried enough about Reaper attacks. They need this."

There was a look of surprise on the woman's face before her expression softened. Even the male's shoulders seemed to relax slightly. The two them exchanged almost solemn glances.

"Alright you have a bit more time, but I expect to hear something else on the matter soon." She spoke skeptically before turning on her heel and disappearing around the corner with her husband. Ashton couldn't help but stare as they left. He felt Calum's shoulder on his arm.

"It'll be alright, mate." He spoke softly, although he sounded like he was saying it to convince all of them. Ashton just hoped Calum was right. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! ^^
> 
> So I took a little break for a while, I'm not too sure when the next update will be but I hope that you enjoy this one. :D


	13. Doubt

**Doubt** ( _Noun_ ) _: A feeling of uncertainty or lack of conviction._

  
After a long parade back through the crowded streets; it was late afternoon. The sun was beginning to cast a vibrant display of orange and purple. The carriage carrying the four guardians clunked and thunked as it flew over the bricks below.

Although it had been over an hour since the encounter with Charlie's parents; all the boys were still shaken. None of them had spoken about it, but it still hung over them like a dark and stormy raincloud.

Still the four of them had managed to hold their composure and smiled and waved at the crowd around them. It wasn't easy to fake it as they carriage rode through the streets, but they had managed well enough. The carriage soon came to a large building with the word's town hall, intricately painted on it.

The Town Hall was at the other end of the village. It was a large white concrete building. It had high ceilinged domes on its roof. It looked to have been built in the early nineteen hundred, making it look much more modern that their quarters at the top of the hill. From the front it had been decorated with balloons, streamers, and symbols of the sun, suggesting of the festivities that lay inside.

They arrived at a back entrance. They were quickly ushered inside by an elderly woman. She led them up to another room at the top of a long staircase. The room was rather plain. Opposite the door there was a large window on one side that looked out over the city. The woman told them that would need to wait here until they were called. None of the other Guardians seemed bothered by this, so Ashton decided to follow suit.

He took a moment to study the room. There were a few unusual looking paintings littering the walls. They looked more like kindergarten children's artworks than anything official. There were purple velvet lounges with black vines all over them. They were a little garish, but Ashton sat down in them regardless. He was certain this was going to be a long wait.

Calum seemed to recognise this as well, he sat himself on the other end of the sofa. Michael sat across from them on the opposite lounge on the other side of the room.

However, Luke started pacing up and down the room. He seemed to be impervious to the fact that the three of them were in the room as he muttered things silently.

Though as Ashton looked between the other Guardians, he realised that they weren't handling the situation any differently. Calum's eyes were directly out the nearby window. Whilst Michael was pretending to look interested in one of the abstract paintings on the wall. One of which Ashton thought looked like someone had just splattered blue paint on it. Though occasionally Michael's eyes would flick back between the other two. A look of concern evident on his face.

It was slightly disorientating; Ashton wasn't sure what to say. None of them had expected the woman to verbally attack them like that. Her threats might be empty, but it didn't make the words hurt any less.

The stifling silence continued between them for a little while longer.

About five minutes later, Luke made a frustrated noise. He flopped down onto the sofa beside Michael a moment later. He looked amongst the Guardians for a moment.

"What if they were right? We should finally tell the truth to the village about Charlie." Luke spoke, shuffling nervously, "Everyone should know."

Luke's words were met with silence. Ashton tried to decide what to say, it had been so long since the events of that day. Telling the village what happened could change everything for them. He'd seen what had happened to those held of high standing in the real world. Any revelation of a hidden truth usually led to a fall from grace. Would the Guardian's survive something like that? 

Calum cleared his throat for a moment, his eyes meeting with Luke's, "While I agree that we need to say something. I don't think now is the right time." Calum spoke, his eyes flickered to Ashton for barely a moment, "Besides everything else, think of what they would do to Ashton."

Ashton shivered slightly at those words. This whole time he'd been thinking about the impact a secret like that would have on the Guardians themselves. He hadn't really considered the impact it might have on himself.

"They would think I'm a fake guardian then, wouldn't they?" Ashton spoke quietly before anyone could add to Calum's words.

None of them replied for a moment, but he noticed the brief glances that the three of them exchanged.

Calum nodded solemnly, "It's possible."

Luke just let out a long drawn out sigh, "I have to admit that it's rare for two Guardians to be born so close together. Realistically a new Summer Guardian should only be about eleven years old."

Ashton stared at Luke; he was surprised by that fact. He was much older than eleven. It felt like there was more evidence stacking up against him. More reason for people to rally against him if the truth came out.

"Maybe it's true then, perhaps I am a fake." He spoke softly, barely audible and feeling disheartened.

Luke's eyes flew wide as he quickly turned to Ashton. He seemed to realise what he had just said.

"Wow, Ash. I'm sorry. I really shouldn't have said that." Luke started quickly, as if he wished he could take the words back, "It means nothing how old you are. You have the powers and you have the mark. You are the real Summer Guardian." He seemed to realise that Ashton was not being convinced as he added, "It's rare, but not impossible for there to be two Guardians so close together and of such a close age..." He trailed off slightly, his gaze on Ashton slightly guilty.

"It's not common either, Luke." Calum added with a glaring frown.

Michael let out a frustrated groan, and everyone's eyes turned to him. His attention had finally turned away from the odd painting he'd been examining on the wall. Michael's green eyes shot at them like piercing daggers. "Enough, you two."

Calum and Luke jumped slightly, their gazes quickly turning to Michael. Michael was still glaring at them looking frustrated.

"In case you've all forgotten it's Ashton's Guardian Ceremony today. We all know he is the real Summer Guardian. We have no proper reason to doubt him. So, let's just focus on enjoying this party. This whole mess about Charlie can wait."

Luke and Calum exchanged slightly guilty looking glances, but they soon nodded in agreement to Michael's request.

"Yeah... I guess Michael's right. We can talk about it later." Luke nodded, he sent an apologetic glance at Ashton, "I'm sorry, Ash."

Calum was nodding as well, "We can. I'm sorry too."

At that moment there was a knock on the door. The elderly woman who had brought them up here was standing there. She had changed outfits. She now wore a white suit with a sparkly blue sash. She looked a bit confused by the serious tone of the room.

Still she plastered on a smile, hiding her confusion. Then she told them that it was time for them to head downstairs to the party.

Ashton sucked in a deep breath, exchanging a nervous glance back at the others. He was in no mood for the party. To be honest he wasn't sure the others were either. No one really moved for a moment.

"It'll be fine." Calum assured him with a grin as he rose from his spot beside him.

Ashton looked around noticing that Michael and Luke had already risen as well. The two of them were looking at him almost expectantly as they noticed his hesitation.

Ashton rose from his seat and followed the three of them and their elderly host out the doorway. 

They followed the elderly woman downstairs until they came to a set of closed white doors with a sheet of white gossamer covering the glass. Just behind them Ashton could hear the slight thump of a musical beat and the sound of laughter. The party it seemed had already begun. He swallowed hard.

The elderly woman pushed the door open and ushered them towards the outside. Ashton gasped at the sight before him. There was a long white staircase that lead down to a massive ballroom.

Large round tables lined the room, each filled with dozens of people. Ashton gasped, as he looked out the sheer amount of people that were here for the gathering. It was nothing like outside had been but there was certainly a lot of people. Most of them looked well dressed, suggesting that many of the people in the room had money and power. Yet he realised with a sinking stomach that they had all stopped to look at them.

Every eye on the room was on him.

Worst yet was the realisation that this wasn't really for him. This whole party belonged to Charlie. The young boy who had perished at the hands of those Reapers and somehow landed Ashton with these powers. He gripped onto the banister before him filled suddenly with nerves.

"You okay?" Calum frowned, shooting him a sideways glance. Luke and Michael had already begun to descend the staircase, so only the two of them remained.

Ashton nodded softly, although he felt slightly dizzy and shaky as he followed Calum down into the middle of the staircase. Michael shot the two of them a worried glance, but he quickly turned back ahead.

"Announcing the arrival of the Guardians of The Seasons." A voice boomed over a loudspeaker.

The room began to politely clap for them, and eyes he hadn't even noticed weren't watching turned their way.

Ashton's heart lurched at the sight. He hesitated, but numbly stepped down the staircase down to the bottom. With every step he could feel the millions of eyes that made up the room on him. He couldn't help but feel as though they were just waiting for him to mess up.

Yet he didn't, as he successfully made it to the bottom of the staircase. Ashton let out the breath he hadn't realised he was holding and waved out into the assembled group. He could practically see the relief on the other Guardians faces as he did so.

The rest of the formalities began to whirl into a blur, there was another small ceremony. That included a bunch of congratulations from a bunch of people that Ashton barely managed to catch the names of. He was grateful for their kind words none the less. Even if he still wasn't sure that he deserved them.

There was food too. Lots of food, Ashton didn't think it would stop coming. As hundreds of different foods were brought to their table. Many of which Ashton didn't recognise. He was grateful for the other Guardians help of what to eat and what to stay well clear of.

Then it came time for the dance. Apparently, it was a requirement that the Guardians had to dance with every person that asked them. Ashton wasn't concerned with who would ask him to dance. He was just worried that he was so nervous that he would step on someone's feet.

All too quickly many girls had asked him to dance with him. The other Guardians were quickly swept up in similar requests.

Ashton barely managed to process the names of each of the girls that asked to dance with him. They began to blur into one. There was one called Amelia or was its Milly? He couldn't remember but each time a new song came along his partner seemed to change. Each girl quickly making way for the next.

He soon came to find himself dancing with a girl named Poppy. The reason she stood out to him was her bright pink hair and her glimmering face gems that were stuck in a flower pattern on her top cheekbone. It stood out from the other girls who had danced with him previously. She wore a lilac purple dress with lace.

Unlike many of the girls who had tried to flirt with him, Poppy hadn't. She'd complemented him on his speech. As the song ended and they parted she promised that she was rooting for him before disappearing into the crowd.

"Can I dance with you?" A small voice asked. There was a woman standing there in a blue sequined dress, with short bobbed red hair. She was pretty. Ashton hesitated slightly, a strange sense coming through him.

There was no time for Ashton to reply as there was a loud crashing noise that seemed to shake through the entire room. The music jerked to a stop as people began to scream and yell. People were pointing to something behind them. Slowly Ashton turned, noticing people were ducking under the nearby tables. A strange black energy seemed to emit from behind them before forming into the form of a man. He held someone in his arms. An older woman wearing a striking red dress.

Ashton realised that he had his hands held to her chest and a strange light blue light emitted from it. Ashton stiffened, quickly reminded of that time he had watched Jemma try to take Luke's spark. His hands grew warm in response.

He muttered a quick apology to the young woman who had just asked him to dance. He departed quickly pushing through the crowd. Dark arrows seemed to shoot through the air, sending anyone they hit flying to the ground. Ashton narrowly dodged one. His eyes were shifting through the crowd that were heading towards the doors.

He frowned. Where were the other Guardians?

As if on cue, he began to spot them as they crowd began to clear. They were running the opposite direction from the mass of people trying to escape. Their fancy outfits striking them out from the crowd. The three of them made a beeline towards the man, and Ashton followed suit. Joining them a few meters away from the masked man. He continued to shoot shadowy daggers out with his other hand towards the crowd. Ashton winced as he saw someone at the back of the escaping crowd drop as it made impact.

The masked man recognized them immediately as the Guardians slowed, a smile creeping onto his face.

"I knew that scene would flush you four out." The man grinned proudly as he let the woman he was still holding, drop to the ground.

"You bet it did." Michael frowned, narrowing his eyebrows as he raised his arms. A bright blue light glowed around Michael's palms. Ashton noticed the way icicles began to dance on the masked man's cloaked form, effectively freezing him in place. The man's teeth began to chatter.

Luke was next, he threw his hands out in front of him towards the nearest table. Suddenly the flower arrangement in the centre of the table seemed to grow and swell. The green vines and leaves seemed to sprout rapidly; Luke guided them towards the man's form in a quick sweeping motion. The man tried to jerk away but the vines took hold encasing him in their grip.

"Go for it you two." Luke spoke, though he looked as though he was struggling to keep control of them. The man was struggling against the vines and so was Luke.

Calum and Ashton briefly exchanged glances, knowing what Luke intended them to do. Right now, they worked best as a team. He saw Calum raise his palms. So, Ashton took a deep breath calling on his powers as he willed the leaves and plants to ignite. Behind his mask the Reaper smiled wildly.

Ashton blinked in confusion, lowering his hands. Something was wrong about this. It all seemed a little too easy, it was like the guy wasn't even trying to fight them back. He hesitated, watching the tiny flames flicker.

Calum turned to him, his own hands lowering when Ashton heard him faintly whisper, "Are you alright?"

The words had barely left Calum's mouth when the world began to swirl and spin around them. The ballroom seemed to disappear, swallowed up by an inky shadowy mist that seem to fill the room. The plants surrounding the man in the robe seem to disintegrate as the mist reached him. He grinned, as he regained movement and flexed his arms. It must've worked on the ice as well.

Fear struck Ashton in the stomach, as a dull headache began to form. He moved to stand closer to the other guardians. What was going on? Calum's expression seemed to widen as his eyes flickered around them. Luke looked a little stunned at first but soon regained his composure. Michael just scowled, seemingly unfazed by the change in playing field. That didn't seem to calm him much though.

"The shadow realm." Michael frowned looking around them. Luke made a small frustrated grunt. 

"You drew us in here, didn't you?" Ashton spoke, holding the gaze of the cloaked Reaper.

The man didn't reply he only smiled as the darkness rose behind him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Sorry for the delay with this chapter but I've been busy. I'm not sure what the update schedule will look like for this now, but I hope you will enjoy it! ^^


	14. Survival

_**Survival**_ : _(Noun) 1. the state or fact of continuing to live or exist, typically in spite of an accident, ordeal, or difficult circumstances. 2. an object or practice that has continued to exist from an earlier time._

  
The darkness grew and suddenly they were everywhere and nowhere, as the world spun around them like a spinning top. Ashton could already feel the slight sense of nausea creeping in, as bile rose in his throat. He saw glimpses of the others, but it was all a blur.

A moment later and the swirling stopped, dizzy and disoriented. A crushing weight fell over every bone in his body, Ashton fell to his knees with a grunt.

As he raised his head, he ran his hands along the cool grassed surface. There was no light, the sky was a pitch black. They appeared to be in a large tree filled forest. There was only the hint of a faint green glowing light that protruded from the dark cloaked robes of the Reaper before them who had dragged them into this strange place.

Ashton looked around him, finding the faces of the others. Like him, all three of them were on their knees as well. Pale, all ill looking. A strike of fear coursed through Ashton's veins. All of them had looked fine back at the party...

Ashton knew there was no time to think about that. He raised his palm hoping to find some spark of flames on his fingertips.

Yet, his fingertips barely sparked, a small golden light would blink for a moment before flickering back to nothing. He let out a slight groan in frustration. He felt like he was back to square one.

Silently, he wondered if he was too weak. He had used a lot of magic to attack at this guy in the first place, even with Calum's help.

With that in mind his eyes scanned back over the others briefly. He could see Michael stretching his hand out repeatedly, as if he were Spiderman slinging his web. A small blue light danced on his fingertips, shooting sparks that barely would've disturbed the air in front of him. It was nothing like the show of power Michael had used to freeze him off that bicycle.

Calum and Luke looked to be having similar results. Neither managing more than an orange or green spark of light. If it was odd for Ashton not to be able to use his powers but seeing these three struggles was even stranger. The thumping of his heart grew louder in his chest. The three guardians began to back away, a look of fear flashing through their expressions.

Something was wrong.

Surely one of them knew what to do. They had to have seen this before. Whatever the Reaper had pulled it was clear the three of them weren't prepared for it. Yet Ashton was starting to get the feeling that except for Michael labelling this place the Shadow Realm, there wasn't much that they knew. 

The Reaper stood before them; his arms stretched out wide an eerie green light glowing in his palms. Ashton was sure if he could've seen the man's whole face then it would've been locked in a sickening smirk.

Worst of all, the Guardians and himself were seemingly powerless to stop him. Ashton frowned; the Reaper would have their sparks easily. At least that's what Ashton thought that the man wanted. That was what all Reapers wanted from them wasn't it? He thought of how he had barely stopped Jemma that day. There was nothing standing between the Reaper and them now.

The green light grew around the Reaper, encompassing him like an eerie outline.

"Ideas?" Ashton heard one of the Guardians ask as the four of them continued to back away.

"Don't die?"

No one else had a chance to reply as the green beam of light was released from the Reapers hands. It came barrelling towards the four of them. Ashton knew he had to think fast, he couldn't afford to worry about the others right now. One of them had to make it out of here.

Gritting his teeth, he turned and ran. 

A few steps later, he froze. His body jolted as he felt the pain shoot through the skin on his back. He let out a piercing yell into the dark night. He barely managed to stay upright, as it felt as though every cell in the back of his body was on fire. 

His vision wavered as he fought the urge to collapse. Every step felt like his last as he stumbled through the mysterious undergrowth around him.

The pain in his back was searing, his body felt as though it could give out at any moment. Just a little further, he told himself. Spotting a nearby thicket of bushes, he directed himself towards it. Perhaps it would give him a moment to collect his thoughts. At least that's what he hoped as he allowed himself to collapse to the ground.

As the pain continued Ashton lied there listening to the sounds. He couldn't hear anything or see any more beams of light. If he closed his eyes, he could just pretend he was on a bushwalk or camping. Anywhere else but here.

His eyes flashed open.

Oh god. Were the others even okay?

He felt awful for forgetting about them. They had to be somewhere around. The last he'd seen of them had been before the burning lights. He could feel his mind falling down rabbit holes. They couldn't be... They weren't....

There was a mechanical crackling voice.

"Status report." A stern voice spoke.

"I saw them fall; the Guardians are dead." A confident voice replied. "We can continue with the plan; the Guardians village will fall by sunrise."

Fall by sunrise? Ashton frowned. The Guardians are dead? He felt like they had screwed up so badly. Was it possible that he was the only guardian left? His heart sunk at the thought.

"Then why didn't I see any sparks in the vision?" A second voice, more feminine voice demanded, "I'm certain they are still alive around here. Look for them, and report back"

"Fine. I'll look."

Ashton swallowed hard; he wasn't in a good way, but he was still breathing. 

Though at the same time the words gave him hope. If the second voice hadn’t spotted and sparks. Was it possible all four of them had survived the blast? Just how did he go about finding them, the others could be miles away. From the footsteps growing closer, he knew that he didn't have much time before the voices found him.

There was something moving nearby, it was coming from the opposite direction to the Reapers. Ashton's chest tightened at the sound, as his eyes scanned around him. He knew he was in vulnerable position. Maybe the Reapers had already found him, there was sure to be more than just the one here.

Ashton froze, holding his breath. His heart rate increased as he tried to determine the larger threat. Did he need to make another run for it? The moving noise stopped. Ashton waited, filled with nerves.

Then he saw something move again, and suddenly there was a face peering right at him. Ashton bit down a scream, but relaxed when his eyes met with a pair of familiar green ones.

"Michael?" Ashton allowed himself to whisper, hoping that Reapers didn't have enhanced hearing either.

The person, presumably Michael didn't reply but there was a faint nod, as the Winter Guardian emerged from the leafy undergrowth. He stopped just before reaching Ashton, he looked to be trying to remain as hidden as possible.

Even with the dim lighting Ashton could see the deep bleeding cut that ran down the left side of Michael's face. He hesitated for a moment. There was a good chance it would scar. Not that Ashton knew how much damage had been done to his searing back.

"Before you ask. I'm okay." Michael whispered, but he wasn't entirely convincing as he raised his hand to his face. "We have bigger problems, like not being discovered in the next few seconds." He gestured to the Reaper that was looking in their general direction.

The Reaper in question seemed to freeze, a faint smile curving beneath his hooded mask. His eyes flickered towards them before turning back around to the other side of the forest. Ashton stopped breathing for a moment as he followed the Reapers eerie gaze.

They were right there.

Luke was standing and had Calum supported on his shoulders. They both looked like a deer in headlights.

The Reaper looked back between the two groups, a hunter deciding on its prey. Ashton swallowed hard; they had been spotted.

They had survived that first attack, but the next one could be fatal. The feminine voice had been clear, she wanted to see their sparks. Know they were dead.

The Reaper raised his arms towards Calum and Luke clearly seeing them as the larger threat. Ashton noticed for a moment, that the markings on the mask the Reaper wore was glowing with its own light. The four different coloured patterns reminded him of the markings of the cement back at the village. A small golden sun for summer. A snowflake for winter. A flower for spring. A leaf for autumn.

It was odd. He wondered if that had something to do with things. Surely the Reapers would have no use for the Guardians symbols, or would they? Was that what was blocking their powers? Ashton was starting to wonder. Though perhaps he had worked it out too late.

The blast went shooting past them both, sending both Ashton and Michael diving into the bushes. There was a crackling of a laugh that echoed through the bushes. 

Ashtons mind raced, he had to tell Michael. Surely he would be able to think of something, once Ashton told him his observation. 

There was another bright green blast a few meters away from Ashton’s face. Sending up a torrent of dirt and debris. Carefully, Ashton crawled towards where Michael’s head was lying nearby. His eyes were watchful in the direction of the Reaper. 

"Michael, the mask on his face." Ashton whispered.

Ashton wasn’t able to finish his sentence as Michael’s eyes lit up with a renewed vigour. His eyes moved to the Reaper and it’s mask. The reaper stood his hands outstretched and his palms glowing with a eerie green light that looked ready to strike. 

"It’s giving him power. We could destroy it." Michael's eyes lit up in realisation, as he understood what Ashton was saying.

Ashton wasn't sure how Michael intended to destroy it, but a moment later Michael rose from the ground and started dashing towards the Reaper like a bull to a red flag. There was a pulsing green light, Michael barely dodging it in time. Ashton wanted to yell at him that it was dangerous, but he seemed to have no choice but to follow. He rose from the ground behind him. His body cried out in protest but he kept trailing behind him. 

Before the Reaper could recharge, Michael reached forwards grabbing the mask from the man’s face. In realisation the man frantically grabbed for it, trying to snatch it back. 

It was too late, the mask was firmly in Michael’s hands. He grabbed both sides and it shattered into two pieces. Michael turned it over, and inspected it. It was still glowing, as he passed the yellow glowing section over to Ashton. 

“Your turn.” 

Ashton took a quick glance at the sun shaped mark on the piece Michael had given him. He felt the Reaper crash into him a moment later, attempting to tackle Ashton for the piece. Ashton heard a distinct crack as they fell. Ashton watched as a bright golden light seemed to release from the object as the light faded in the mask. 

The Reaper instantly recoiled, as if Ashton was suddenly made of lava. 

Curious, Ashton held out his palm. Grinning as the flame easily ignited in his palm. Their powers had returned! Or at least his had. 

He saw a green and orange light leap into the air from the direction Luke and Calum had been standing in. This act seemed to shatter the illusion around them. The trees around them began to morph and blur back into the ballroom that they had once been in. 

The ballroom was almost empty now, only a few brave guests remained. Tables and chairs were overturned. Food was spilled all over the floor. Still the Reaper stood before them looking slightly startled. Luke and Calum stood over the other side now, Luke helped Calum to stand. Though his other hand was glowing with a green light. 

The Reaper suddenly seemed to relax, his startled look becoming one of confidence. 

"That was just a test. You'll fall soon, Guardians." The Reapers spat, glaring into Michael's eyes, as he held his piece of the mask, "One by one, your sparks will be taken from you."

"We'll see about that." Michael argued back, not losing the man's gaze.

The Repear replied with a tense smirk. 

Meanwhile, nearby Luke looked around him, at the group of guards that had assembled behind Calum and himself . He gestured towards the offending Reaper. "Take him away."

The guards simply nodded at the command. They quickly surrounded the Repear giving him no time to attack. He didn’t seem to put up a fight though, as he allowed himself to be lead away. Ashton frowned, that didn’t seem like regular prisoner behaviour. He’d expected the man to put up more of a fight. 

The guards began to lead him away as the Reaper turned back, shooting the group a wicked grin. "Before I forget In a week' time, the Reapers will break down these barriers once more, destroying anybody in their path. Especially you four."

Even the guards seemed to freeze as the words hung on the air for a moment. Nearby, Luke had gone as white as a ghost. 

"What did you say?" Luke asked slowly.

"You heard me." He grinned, before repeating, as he twisted slightly towards them, "One week from now, the Reapers will once again break down the barriers that protect you and destroy everything and anybody in their path."

There was a collective gasp amongst the remaining members of the room. 

One week? 

Ashton shook his head, he was bluffing. The Reaper had to be. 

Yet it wasn’t a secret that the Reapers had already broken down the barriers once, it was more than possible that they could do it again. Appearing at the ball and pulling the four of them into the Shadow Realm like that was enough proof of their power. It wasn’t out of the realm of possibility. 

"Take him away." Luke repeated, but the words were sharper and slightly fearful.

The guards pulled tighter ranks and surrounded the man more completely. His ejection was much more hasty than it had been originally. The four of them stared as he was lead out the room. It wasn’t until the man was gone, that Ashton allowed himself to breathe again. 

Hastily the older woman who had been with them earlier appeared. She hearded them back up to the room that they had come from. Even with Calum limping his way up the staircase on Luke and Michael’s shoulders. Ashton suspected he’d twisted his ankle in the fight. No one spoke the entire way up the staircase. Too spooked, lost in thought of what they had witnessed. 

They had barely sat down on the plush sofas when a medical team rushed in and began checking them all for injuries. Pretty soon a person dressed in a suit and tie rushed and brought them all tea and biscuits as if an apology. Everyone just nodded in thanks, but still no one spoke.

At least half an hour had passed, the medics had left. Calum’s leg was wrapped in a layer of bandages, and instructions to stay off it as much as possible until at least the next morning. They sat in complete silence, the food on the table had been barely touched. 

"Do we believe him?" Ashton finally asked the others, looking amongst their worried faces. Why were none of them talking about what had happened?

Michael let out a long sigh. 

“I believe him.” Luke frowned, his voice tinged with exhaustion. 

“Unfortunately I do too.” Michael sighed, “But with only a week to prepare, I don’t think we’ll be ready in time.” 

“Me either.” Calum shook his head, he gestured down to his ankle, “Even with healing, this is going to put me out for at least a day or two.” 

Ashtons heart sunk, they may have escaped that time, but were things really over before they had begun. The temptation to run once more had never felt so real.

“Ash...” Luke frowned, seeming to sense this, “It’s okay, we’ll find a way. We always do.” 

Michael nodded solemly, “Somehow we’re going to have to. We’ve fought too long just to give up now.” 

Luke and Calum nodded at this. Ashton could only hope that Michael was right. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long, I became really stuck with this story and wasn’t too sure where to go next. I’m not sure when the next update will be, but hopefully not quite as long as this one. ^^; 
> 
> I haven’t done a proper edit of this chapter, but please let me know it things don’t make sense or don’t line up with other chapters. 0_0
> 
> In other news, one of my other stories the Sun Will Rise broke 100 Kudos!!! Thank you so much to everyone whose read it!! <3


End file.
